Sweet Home Middle Earth?
by doodle8200
Summary: Little did I know that Middle Earth was real. I was just an ordinary girl, reading my book, not doing anything worth mentioning, at least not until nine men showed up in my room, looking like they had come from one of Tolkien's books...which they had. Rated T for slight language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I'm new to writing fan fiction; this is my first really serious piece. I know it starts out a little slow, but it'll pick up soon! I hope you like it! Please review and let me know what you think!**

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It was a dark and stormy night. Okay, so yeah that's a really cliché opening, but it actually was. The wind howled through the branches of the trees outside my windows, and the rain pounded against the roof of our second-floor apartment unit. Bright flashes of lightning were followed by loud peals of thunder that echoed through the valley. I looked up from the book I was reading, _The Fellowship of the Ring_, to glance at my clock. It was 3 AM. I guess that means it was a dark and stormy morning.

It was a Sunday night, the first of summer break, and I was celebrating the change by reverting to my natural nocturnal way of life, which for obvious reasons is very difficult to do for the rest of the year (*cough* school *cough*). I turned back to my book, part of my favorite series. I completely and absolutely love Lord of the Rings. The movies, the books, anything. But I digress.

_Crash_. _Thud._ Through the sound of the wind and the rain, I heard two distinct noises that most definitely were not part of the storm that was raging outside. Putting my book down, I very cautiously opened my door and peeked out into the hall. I opened it a little more and stepped out, listening for any other noises. Coming to the end of the hall, I saw that there were two people, probably men, standing in the living room wearing black masks. One of the windows was shattered, and glass littered the carpet around it. Burglars.

_Okay, who the hell robs a house in this weather?_ I thought to myself. Unfortunately, one of the men turned around at that moment and saw me. With reflexes as slow as mine, I had no chance of ducking behind the corner and out of their view.

"What do we have here, missy?" the one who turned growled at me, barely heard over the rain, which was now soaking the carpet under the window they had broken to get in. I backed away as the other one turned, pulling a gun out of his belt. _Crap._ I sprinted back to my room, trying to close the door, but the first one (thankfully without a gun) wedged his arm in. Suddenly there was a blinding light, immediately followed by what was probably the loudest sound I have ever heard in my life. My eardrums felt as if they were about to burst, and I released the door to cover my ears as I fell to the floor. I'm fairly sure the burglars did this too, but about five seconds after it ended, the door burst open.

Even though I was pretty sure I was about to die, I didn't scream. I didn't want my mom or my brother to come in and get hurt, too. The men jumped into my room, one of them pointing a gun at me, but he dropped it when he saw something in the light of the lamp I had on for reading. Their mouths, which weren't covered by their masks, both formed an "o" shape, and the one without a gun stumbled back a little. Why were they backing away? I twisted my head to look behind, and that's when I saw another group of men standing in my room. The light was pretty poor, but it looked like they were wearing…capes? And tunics? Were those swords that I saw strapped to their waists? Then I saw the four shorter figures who weren't wearing shoes, the slightly short one with the huge mass of beard, the one in gray robes and a pointy hat who held a staff, and three others, one of whom seemed to have a bow, the other two swords. Nine total.

They stared at me, probably as surprised to see me as I was to see them. I desperately hoped they were in a friendly mood. Standing at only 5'4", there was no way I could take on one burglar, let alone 11.

"Help?" I squeaked out, in a ball before the really tall one's feet. He and the other with a sword leaped at the two men, who fled from my room, as fast as their legs could carry them. I stood and followed them to see what was going on. At this point, they started to make a lot of noise, causing my mother and brother, who had apparently slept through or ignored the thunder, to come out of their rooms.

I came to the end of the hall and saw the man who had had the gun squirming on the floor with a sword held to his neck. His partner was held in a headlock by the taller one.

"Don't kill them!" I shouted to the two of them, who looked up at me, slightly surprised.

"What-HOLY CRAP-MICHELA, WHAT IS GOING ON?" My mother had finally realized that something was indeed going on. She stood right behind me, looking from the broken window to the small pool that by then had collected on the floor, and then looking at the four men in the living room.

My brother came up next to me and just stared.

"Lady, why should we not kill them? They were about to do the same to you," the one without the sword asked as he threw down the burglar and stood over him. I think my mom was about to kill someone herself. I looked at her and saw that her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her face was as white as a sheet.

"They didn't succeed, though. You and your friends showed up…" I trailed off. Where were the rest of them? I looked behind again and saw that a few of them were venturing out into the hall. "Besides, where would we put the bodies? And you would probably have to be tried if anyone found out, which would be awkward because I don't think you're even citizens." They relaxed a little when I said that, but my mother was clearly not satisfied with any of that.

"Michela, they tried to KILL YOU?" she asked, her voice getting louder towards the end. "What are they doing in our house? Why did you leave your room? WHAT HAPPENED?" I don't know if you're getting this or not, but my mother is incredibly protective.

I explained everything that had happened, from when I heard the noises in the living room to when she came and saw what was going on. She was pretty speechless when I finished, looking back and stumbling towards my room to see the other seven men.

Finally she returned to the living room and pointed a finger at the two burglars on the floor. "Get. Them. Out." The others nodded and, dragging them by their shirts, towed the burglars over to the window.

"Wait!" I said. "Use the door." I walked over and unlocked it, showing the two men out. "There's another at the bottom of the stairs." They both nodded again and continued with the dragging of the burglars down the stairs, none too gently, I might add. I heard the door open and then the sounds of the two men hitting the sidewalk as they were thrown out. The two men climbed the stairs, and the three of us walked back inside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Here's the second chapter! Woohoo! I hope y'all are liking it so far! Please review and tell me what you think!**

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At this point, everyone was in the living room. The four really short ones were grouped together, looking kind of scared. The bearded one was holding an axe and looking around as if he expected enemies to leap out at any moment. The three tall ones looked just as uneasy, but fortunately they weren't holding their weapons. The grey one looked most at ease, almost as if he knew exactly what was going on. I sure as hell didn't. I mean, I had an idea, one little idea, but it was crazy. Just way out of line. Not even possible. At all.

I looked over at my mom, who was sitting in her chair in the living room, trying to get over the fact that we had almost been robbed and possibly killed. She was probably wondering what nine extra people were doing in our house, too. My brother was sitting backwards in one of the dining table chairs, in awe of the crowd that was in our living room. _Does he have the same crazy idea? Are we both insane? Or is it possible? _ I wondered to myself.

"Who are y'all?" he asked, speaking for the first time that night. Or morning. Whatever.

The old grey one answered. "I am Gandalf the Grey. I travel with Aragorn, son of Arathorn; Boromir, son of Denethor; Legolas Greenleaf of the Woodland Realm; Gimli, son of Gloin; and Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck of the Shire."

I was right! It was the Fellowship! In our living room! I just about passed out from sheer happiness. My family knew that I was in love with Lord of the Rings, so the expressions on their faces were understandable as they looked towards me. My mother looked slightly worried, and I'm pretty sure that she was thinking I was about to explode. My brother, on the other hand, seeing my face, was struggling to contain his laughter. I suppose that I looked like a child who had been told that they could live in Disneyworld. But it was even better. It was Middle Earth.

I brushed my shoulder-length brown hair back from my face with my hand and stood up. "Welcome to our home, Gandalf, and all the rest of you as well. Can we let them stay here?" I added, turning to Mom. She just looked at me, silently inquiring if I had completely lost my mind. "They have nowhere to go, and they have no idea how to live in our world." I explained, trying to get her to understand. "We can't just throw them out in the storm," I pleaded, even though it had let up a little by this point.

She put her head in her hands. "Fine. You can stay here for a while, but you cannot live here forever. I don't know how you're going to get back-"

"Great!" I cut her off. I wasn't sure that it would be a good idea to tell them that we knew where they came from. I turned back to the Fellowship. "You're probably wondering who we all are. My name is Michela. This is my brother, Kevin, and this is my mother, Nicole."

"It's lovely to meet you, and we all thank you for your kind hospitality," Gandalf said, smiling down at me. "But where are we?"

"Umm…Alabama," was my hesitant reply. It was received with looks of disbelief and slight mistrust.

"We're on Earth. You know, Middle Earth, Earth…" my brother decided to chip in. This time Aragorn, the really tall one, spoke up.

"And how do you know where we are from? Are you spies?" He stepped forward, grabbing his sword as Legolas hesitantly reached for an arrow.

"No! No, we are not spies," I said quickly, shooting an evil look at my brother, who simply shrugged innocently. "We just…we can…tell by your clothes that you're from Middle Earth." This answer didn't seem to completely satisfy them, but Aragorn and Legolas at least let go of their weapons.

"Michela, Kevin, come here," Mom told us, beckoning as she walked back toward the hall. We both followed her to her room. "How is this going to work?" She seemed to have accepted that the Fellowship was really going to stay with us, at least for a little bit. "You do realize that they are going to need to sleep somewhere, and eat? And what about clothes? They are not going to stay inside for the duration of their stay, but they can't go out in what they're currently wearing, either. And they seriously need to shower." We all processed that.

"Well, why don't we get them showered first? Then we can figure out sleeping arrangements, and tomorrow we can take them to Target to find some clothes," I suggested. The other two nodded.

"Okay, that sounds good, but how are we going to get them all showered?" Kevin asked. We only had two showers in the apartment.

"We can split them up and show them how it works," Mom said. "I'll take care of my bathroom, and you two can show them how to use yours. Especially the toilets. Tell them how to use the toilets." Once we were all agreed on that, we returned to the living room.

"Alright, everyone we are going to show you how to shower," Mom announced to the Fellowship, the members of which all gave us confused and in many cases concerned looks.

"Don't worry, it just means you'll be clean," I added, seeing that they were worried. "We'll be splitting you guys into two groups because we only have two showers." They seemed more relieved when they heard what it was. "Basically how it works is water shoots out of a spout above you and you wash in it."

"There'll be two hobbits in each group," Mom said. "Gandalf and Aragorn, you will be in my bathroom, along with Frodo and Sam. Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli, you will go with Michela and Kevin, and they'll show you how to work the shower in their bathroom." They all nodded, seeming to understand. Mom led her group away towards her room, and Kevin and I headed towards ours.

After explaining how to work the shower and use the toilet and the sink to Legolas, Boromir, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin, Kevin and I went back to the living room and sat on the couch. Mom came out soon after we did, and eventually people started to trickle back in as they all got showered. Eight of the Fellowship were sitting in the living room with us, asking us various questions about things in the house and how they worked when Legolas walked in.

"I could use some assistance, if you don't mind. There seems to be a problem with the shower," said a voice I hadn't heard yet. I looked up from talking to Pippin to see the elf standing in the living room in a towel, dripping wet. I leapt up.

"I…I'll h-help you," I said, my voice about three octaves higher than usual. Mom and Kevin burst out laughing as I tripped over myself. We walked back to the bathroom.

"There is a horrible noise. It shrieks, and it is painfully loud," Legolas explained.

"Oh yeah, the water pressure can get really awful and make it squeak," I said. "You just have to adjust it with the nozzles." I did so and then stepped back.

"Thank you," he said, smiling.

"No problem!" I squeaked back, before stumbling out of the bathroom. When I got back to the living room, my family was still laughing at me, and it only intensified when they saw my face, which had apparently turned the color of a tomato.

We started talking about sleeping arrangements and decided that the four hobbits could share my queen-sized bed, Legolas and Boromir could share Mom's king, Gandalf could have Kevin's room, Gimli could get Mom's huge squishy chair with the footstool pushed up against it, and Aragorn could take the couch. Mom, Kevin, and I would take the living room floor.

We set about making beds and providing pillows where needed, and finally everyone was settled. I think we got to bed again at around four-thirty, which wasn't that bad. It wasn't like we were going to have to get up early, or so I thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I got the third chapter up, yay! I'm not entirely sure how the formatting will turn out on this one, so I'm sorry if it looks weird. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think!**

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I woke up to the lovely sensation of someone stepping on my fingers. Ouch.

"Sorry, lass, I didn't see you there," was the dwarf's whispered apology.

I simply grunted a reply and tucked my arms in. I couldn't see the clock in the dim light, but it was not time to be awake yet. Unfortunately the others were not of like mind. I heard Merry and Pippin barrel down the hall and into the kitchen, probably looking for something to eat. I heard the tramp of boots around my head that let me know Aragorn was up, and pretty soon another came out of Mom's bedroom. I opened my eyes a little bit to see that Legolas was also heading out, followed in about a minute by Frodo and Sam.

Suddenly I heard a strangled meow coming from the bathroom. Forgetting about sleep, I jolted up and ran in to be met with the sight of Boromir holding a dagger against my cat.

"NO!" I shrieked, leaping forward and grabbing her from him.

"Do you wish me to get rid of this pest?" he asked me, confused.

"No! No! She's my pet. We keep animals in this world and we feed them and we love them and we do not kill them!" I snapped at him, trying to calm her down at the same time. "She heard you in the bathroom and thought you were going to feed her!"

"Oh…" He put the dagger away. "I am sorry, then."

"It's-it's fine," I said, putting the cat down and giving her some food. "Just ask before you kill something over here," I said lightly. I walked out of the bathroom and saw that the light under Kevin's door was on. _Why does Gandalf have the light on? Is he doing something? What is he doing?_ I wondered. Shrugging to myself, I walked to the kitchen to help find the hobbits some food. I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep.

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"Okay, everybody, stay in a line and do not leave the sidewalk unless we tell you to," Mom instructed the Fellowship as we were about to leave for Target. They all needed new clothes, but there was no way twelve people were going to fit in our Toyota Corolla. That meant walking.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, we had made sure that nobody had any of their weapons on them: it would be really bad if they started attacking people or various machines while in Target.

"And make sure you keep up with me," she added before walking off on the sidewalk. Mom went first, followed by Gandalf, then Legolas, then Gimli. Aragorn walked behind with Frodo on his back, Boromir with Sam, Kevin with Merry, and me with Pippin. The hobbits' legs were too short to keep up with the brisk pace Mom set, and we all wanted to get to Target as quickly as possible.

We must have looked incredibly odd to passersby. Granted, none of the Fellowship had their weapons, and Gandalf had left his hat and (grudgingly) his staff behind, but they were still in serious Middle Earth get up.

It only took us about twenty minutes to get to Target, and nothing bad happened along the way. We did get honked at once or twice, and that scared the living crap out of Legolas what with his super sensitive elvish hearing. It took a few minutes to explain to him that he didn't need to chase down the car and put an end to its life, but he eventually calmed down about it. Fortunately, that was the worst thing that happened on our way to Target.

We stepped into Target, and the Fellowship just looked around in amazement. I, however, having only gotten two and a half hours of sleep, promptly headed over to the Starbucks shop. Once I got coffee, all was well…ish.

"We should probably split up again…The hobbits won't fit into men's clothes, and it would be easier to divide and conquer anyway," Mom said to Kevin and I.

"That sounds good. Two people should probably go with the hobbits. Merry and Pippin could get out of control, if their behavior in the movies is anything to go by," I pointed out.

"That's a good idea," Mom said. "Kevin and I will go with the hobbits; do you think you can find clothes for the other five?"

"I should be able to…I just don't know about Gimli. But we'll tackle that when we get there."

"Okay. Let's go!" Mom said enthusiastically, her tone changing to one of slight panic as she turned to the hobbits. "Merry! Pippin! Get away from the carts!" The two had gone to investigate them and were about to topple one over. She ran over to them to get them down, and Kevin got Frodo and Sam. I was left with the other five (not that I was complaining).

"Okay, guys, let me just grab a cart and we'll go get y'all some clothes!" I said cheerfully, now that I had some caffeine in my system.

"What is that for?" asked Boromir as he studied the plastic frame in confusion.

"It's to carry items that you want to buy. A lot of the time you get too much for just your arms to deal with," I explained. He nodded in understanding.

I led them away to the men's clothing section and started trying to find things that might fit them. Pants first.

"Aragorn, come here," I said, holding up a pair of jeans. "We need to see what size you are, so take these." I handed him three different sizes.

"Now you, Legolas," I held a pair up to his waist. "Those should fit; take them to try on." I repeated the process with Boromir and Gandalf before finding shorts for Gimli. He wasn't very tall, but he was too tall for the kids' section.

"Can I help you?" I heard someone ask. Turning around, I saw that it was one of the employees. Great.

"No, I think we've got it alright," I said with a smile. He was looking at my companions, clearly confused and slightly amused. Following his gaze, I saw that Gimli had gotten tangled in multiple pairs of pants on a rack. I ran over and helped him get free.

"Thank you, lass," he grunted, brushing himself off.

"Sure," I laughed before saying, "Now let's find y'all some shirts."

Once we found some shirts, we headed over to the dressing rooms, everyone carrying their load of clothes to try on. We were walking down the aisle when I heard an excited squeal and then was nearly pushed over by Merry and Pippin, who apparently were not at all intimidated by the modern vastness that is Target. I stumbled, but was caught around the arm by Aragorn.

"Thanks," I said, looking up at him. He smiled back down at me. He had such an adorable smile! It made his eyes crinkle at the corners and gave him a whole different look than the Ranger of the North mask. Not that that looked bad… He was different than in the movies, sterner, but somehow that made him more handsome. And then when he smiled…it got even better.

"Merry! Pippin! Wait up!" I heard my brother shout as he ran after them. I smiled as he sprinted by.

When we got to the changing rooms, I gave them all instructions to try on the clothes and then come and show me. Legolas did that fastest and came out first. He was a bit of a walking contradiction: his modern clothes (jeans and a well-fitted t-shirt) and his long, flowing, golden, braided, perfect hair didn't seem to go together. He looked great, though. His hair, obviously, was amazing, and that jaw! _The pointy ears could pose a problem…_ I thought to myself, but I turned my attention back to the clothes.

"That's good, Legolas!" I said. "Bring back what didn't fit and then we'll pay for that along with the others' things." He nodded and returned to the dressing rooms.

Boromir came out next. "These clothes are not suitable attire for the son of the Steward of Gondor," he complained as he made a 360.

"Sorry, but it's what you have to wear as long as you're here. Trust me, you don't look weird or anything." He didn't seem satisfied with my response, but he put up with the clothes anyway.

Gandalf and Aragorn figured it out at around the same time and came out. Both of their clothes fit, a button-down shirt and a t-shirt (respectively) fitting each of them well. Poor Gimli took forever trying to figure out his shirt. I hadn't been sure what to do with him and his proportions, so I gave him a button-down and a few t-shirts. He came out in the button-down with half of the buttons in the wrong holes and the other half unbuttoned. I quickly turned him back around to try the t-shirts on, which thankfully worked much better.

"Now y'all just need shoes!" I informed them. "Don't worry, that won't take long." We headed over to the shoe section, and I grabbed them each a pair of plastic flip-flops from the wall. "I know these aren't great for walking around in, but you shouldn't have to do too much of that while you're here, and the other shoes are too expensive to buy nine pairs," I told them when I saw them all eyeing the flip-flops distastefully.

We met Mom, Kevin, and the hobbits at the check-out lanes and managed to pay for everything without too much trouble from Merry and Pippin, seeing as they climbed into my cart while Mom was paying.

"Hey guys!" I said. "What do y'all think about this?"

"We've never seen anything like it before!" Pippin said happily, standing up on top of the clothes. "It's so bright, and there are so many things!"

"Is this what your whole world is like? All the buildings, I mean?" Merry asked.

"No, this is just one particular store. Some stores sell food…" I explained to them how stores worked, then what people did in other buildings, like offices. After that it was like a full-blown interrogation. The whole way home, Pippin was asking me questions, and Merry was turning around on Kevin's back to chip in. By the time we got home, we had discussed cars, stoplights, electricity, running water, and TV. TV being the last topic, they were eager to experience it firsthand, and as soon as we got home, they started jumping around asking to be shown how it worked. Needless to say, Mom was not at all comfortable with two very energetic hobbits pushing buttons on the new TV, so I demonstrated how to get it going and put in a movie. Pretty soon most of the Fellowship were gathered in the living room, fascinated by the TV. It was kind of like family movie night. The only people who didn't join us were Gandalf and Aragorn. They had disappeared into Kevin's room, doing who knew what.

When the movie finished, we decided to walk over to Little Caesar's and grab some pizza for dinner. Mom and Kevin stayed home, but I was accompanied by the ever-curious hobbits, along with Boromir and Legolas, who I don't think was very fond of being inside.

We ended up getting five pizzas total. Everyone knows that hobbits eat a lot, so we had to accommodate for that. Kevin, Mom, and I could take out a pizza together, and we had five grown men/dwarf/elf, most of whom could probably eat a cow on any given day.

We ate dinner in the living room, all together before going to bed. Needless to say, it had been a very long day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! I know the story starts off kind of slow, but don't worry: it's about to pick up! Here's Chapter 4! Hope you enjoy!**

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"Michela," someone said, shaking my shoulders. "Michela, wake up!" I squirmed around, trying to get away from whoever it was, but they continued to shake me.

_Who is trying to get me up, and what the _hell_ do they want in the morning?_ I thought to myself, rolling over and opening my eyes to see Merry and Pippin standing over me.

"What is it?" I asked grumpily.

"We're hungry," was the answer I got from Pippin. I groaned and rolled over.

"Make yourself some toast," I moaned from my pillow.

"We can't reach anything in your kitchen. Everything's too tall," Merry informed me. I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"Where's Mom?" I asked, seeing that her sleeping bag was empty. Oh, right. It was Tuesday, so she was at work. "Come on, guys." I stood up and stumbled to the kitchen, flipping on the light switch.

I screamed when I saw that someone was already in the kitchen. _Oh my gosh, are we being robbed again?_ I thought, before seeing that it was Legolas. Unfortunately, my scream woke everyone else up. Aragorn jumped into the kitchen, his sword drawn, before seeing that it was just Legolas. Boromir and Gimli were right behind, each with their own weapons out, ready to attack any more intruders. Gandalf came next, followed by Frodo and Sam, who scuttled out of my room, Frodo with Sting, Sam with his short sword. Kevin came last, rubbing his eyes. Awesome.

"Sorry guys, it was just Legolas. I panicked," I explained sheepishly. "Anyone want breakfast?" There were several nods, especially from the hobbits, as I started to get more eggs and bread. "What were you doing in here, Legolas?" I asked the elf, who I think I almost deafened with that scream.

"I was searching for food. I wasn't sure where it all was. I am sorry if I frightened you," he said politely.

"It's fine," I said, still somewhat shaken. "Why don't you go sit, and I'll bring breakfast out to y'all when it's ready?" The Fellowship and my brother shuffled out of the kitchen, some heading to the bathroom, others to the living room. Breakfast was ready within fifteen minutes and was gratefully accepted by the Fellowship.

After everyone had eaten, I took a shower and cleaned up the kitchen. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the Fellowship, watching a movie or two, and cooking for the ever-hungry hobbits. Mom came home at around five to find all of us, with the exception of Gandalf and Aragorn (again) sprawled out around the living room, watching The Avengers, which fascinated everyone.

Mom and I made spaghetti for dinner (and a lot of it) while everyone else chilled in the living room, this time joined by Aragorn and Gandalf. I heard a bit of a commotion, but I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, seeing as my attention was focused on the noodles I was dumping into the pot of boiling water on the stove. Aragorn suddenly stormed into the kitchen, followed closely by Gandalf, who was soon joined by the rest of the Fellowship. Kevin, like usual, hung out in the back of the group.

"What is the meaning of this?" he growled, shoving a book into my hands as I opened my mouth to ask what was going on. I looked down at the book in my hands, _The Fellowship of the Ring_, which someone must have seen on my bedside table. Shit. Why hadn't we hidden those books? And the movies? They had just been sitting out in the open, waiting for someone to discover them. And someone had. I repeat, _shit_.

"Umm…" was all that came out of my mouth.

"That book contains every detail of our journey. Everything we said and did is in that book. And there's more. There are things that haven't happened yet. _Explain it,_" Aragorn commanded, clearly not happy.

"Umm…"Because I am an incredibly intelligent human being. "Well, okay, so yeah…that's because you guys are all…in that story because…you're supposed to be…fictional characters…?" I finished, aware that I was making next to no sense. That's when Mom spoke up, slightly more articulate than I was at that particular moment.

"A man, J. R. R. Tolkien, wrote about your journey and published it a long time ago. It was meant to be fictional." That probably made just as much sense to them as my statement did (not a lot), but they relaxed-slightly.

"Are you spies?" Boromir asked, clearly worried that we were passing our knowledge to enemies.

"No!" I said, finding my voice again. "We didn't even know until you showed up that Middle Earth is real, and we sure as hell don't know how to get there. Which we still don't know…" I finished lamely, looking at the floor between my feet.

"I do not think they are lying," Gandalf said gently. "They have treated us kindly and given us their home, at least until we may return." He shot Aragorn a meaningful glance as he said that, which made me wonder. When were they going to return? Was it even possible?

"Well, I think that we have had enough stress and confusion for one evening," Mom said. "Michela and I will finish dinner, and then I think we should all go to bed." Everyone accepted the proposal and headed back out into the living room, grumbling to themselves as they did so.

Mom and I finished the spaghetti and took it back to the men, who wolfed it down hungrily and then got ready for bed. After cleaning the kitchen, Mom and I did the same, collapsing on the floor.

Mom and Kevin seemed to fall asleep without any problems, but I lay awake for a while, staring at the ceiling. _What did Gandalf mean in the kitchen? Does he know how to get back? If so, when are they going to leave? Will they tell us, or just disappear? _It was with those unsettling thoughts that I fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

I woke up to a loud bump that came from the hall. Sitting up, I saw that Aragorn wasn't on the couch. _Maybe he's in the bathroom?_ I thought to myself. I heard another bump, and decided to go see what was going on. Were the hobbits awake and running around in my room?

No one was in the bathroom. Nobody was in my room either, which was odd. Walking into my room, I saw that the hobbits had folded their Earth clothes and put them on my bed. I couldn't see their Middle Earth clothes anywhere. Crap.

I turned around and saw that Kevin's light was on, shining out from the crack under his door. What was Gandalf doing in there? Was that where everyone else was, too? I opened the door a crack and peeped in. I was met with a sight I had never seen before. What looked like a black hole had appeared on the floor of my brother's room, and the Fellowship were gathered around it. Suddenly, Gandalf grabbed Frodo, who was standing next to him, by the hand, and together they jumped in! Aragorn grabbed Sam and jumped in after them, followed by Boromir, who had Merry and Pippin. Then Legolas and Gimli jumped in.

They had left, all of them. Gone. All that remained was the black hole, which was slowly shrinking. Wait. It was still there?

Without stopping to think about what I was doing, I threw the door open the rest of the way and leapt into Kevin's room, my arms outstretched. I guess I made it to the hole, because instead of hitting the floor, I kept falling.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! I got Chapter 5 up, but it's kind of long. Thank you so so much to Saphira, my first reviewer! To answer your question, yes, that thought had crossed my mind, but I gave them the biggest bed. Hopefully it wasn't too awkward for them! Thank you for your suggestion, too! And thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoy!**

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I was falling.

And falling.

And…still falling.

And it was dark. Really dark. I tried to wave my hand in front of my face, but I couldn't see anything.

Wait, was I slowing down? Was that stone I felt beneath me? I had no idea: it was still pitch dark. I was on my hands and knees; I started crawling around, but stopped when I ran into something that felt suspiciously like a dead body. Great.

Suddenly, a light appeared. I don't think it was really very bright, but after what seemed like years of darkness, it was almost blinding.

"We are back. And right where we left off, it seems," a voice said, echoing, as if we were in a great cavern. Did I know that voice? It sounded familiar… "We now have but one choice…we must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard…there are older and fouler things than the orcs in the deep places of the world." I did know that voice! It was Gandalf! I had made it to Middle Earth!

"Gandalf," I said, almost begging him to turn around as he started to lead the Fellowship away. He didn't hear me; he just kept walking. I stood up cautiously. "Gandalf," I said again, louder this time, but they still didn't stop. They had started to climb the stairs at the end of the hall. Were they trying to get away from me? No. Just no. There was no way in hell they were going to bring me with them to Middle Earth and then just ditch me in some creepy-ass mine. Although…they didn't exactly bring me, but still.

I took a step forward and tripped over a body, cursing rather loudly as I fell. That got their attention. I felt an arrow shoot past my head, almost catching in my hair as it flew by.

"Who's there?" Aragorn said, unsheathing his sword as he did so. "Show yourself!"

"It's me!" I said, running forward and stumbling as I tried to avoid more bodies. Gross. I stepped into the light, and the Fellowship gazed in awe at me.

"How did you come here?" Gandalf asked.

"I kind of followed you through that black hole," I said. I could practically hear everyone thinking the next question before the wizard asked it.

"Why would you do something like that?"

"I didn't want to be left behind. I've read y'all's story about a million times, and there's nothing I would like more than to accompany you on your quest. I've never really done anything important in my world; maybe in yours I have a chance of being someone," I explained, desperately hoping they wouldn't kick me out. Where would they send me, anyway? "I know what will happen, and I might even be able to save a few lives. I can help you, I promise."

Gandalf took some time to think over what I said before turning to the rest of the Fellowship, who all conversed quietly amongst themselves. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, he turned back and said, "You may come with us, Michela. We would be grateful for what help you have to offer. But know this: we cannot promise to protect you, and there is no guarantee that you will be safe on this journey. Do you understand?"

I just nodded, thrilled that I was going with them. I picked my way across the remaining distance and settled in beside Boromir and the hobbits. The former looked down at my feet, raising an eyebrow in question at my lack of shoes.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "I didn't have time to grab any shoes, or more suitable clothes." I grimaced as I looked down at my pajamas: an oversized t-shirt and Nike shorts. Awesome.

We spent the next three days walking through darkness, the only light coming from Gandalf's staff. We walked through tunnels that went straight as a ruler for more than a mile, and we walked through tunnels that were roughly carved out of the rock and could barely be navigated (we were even forced to crawl at one point). There were often gaps we had to jump over, which was quite nerve-wracking, seeing as there was no way to tell what was at the bottom, or if there even was a bottom. We occasionally took breaks, sitting in a disorganized cluster or scattered over broken boulders. Fortunately, there were extra blankets, so when we slept, I got one to curl up in.

It was during one of these breaks that Aragorn came over and sat by me. Even in the dark of the mine, I could see the Evenstar glistening around his neck.

"How are you, Michela?" he asked me.

"I'm pretty good. It's not as bad down here as I thought it'd be." We sat in silence for a few minutes. Just to make conversation, I blurted out, "Arwen gave you that gem, right?"

He nodded, smiling. "You know," he said, as if a thought had just occurred to him. "Arwen wouldn't have done well in your world at all. She lives in Rivendell, where everything is quiet and peaceful, but your world seemed to be quite chaotic. I assume you know how she helped Frodo get to Rivendell." He paused, and I nodded in the dark. "She is very strong and brave, but believe it or not, she is incredibly easy to startle. I think in your world she would have died of a heart attack." He chuckled quietly.

"Really? I never thought she'd be like that," I said, laughing quietly with him. I mean, I hadn't met her, but the books and movies had painted a pretty accurate picture of the Fellowship so far.

After a few more minutes we got up and carried on walking through the mines. Minus the dark-and-closed-off-space thing, the whole three days really weren't that bad. Except for my feet. After the first day they were blackened by all of the grime from the paths, not to mention bruised by various rocks I had tripped over or stubbed my toes on (that was the worst!). Every once in a while I would trip and cut my foot on a razor-sharp bit of rock that poked out of the ground. Not fun.

Time passed as we trudged on through the mines, but on the third night, we ran into a problem.

"I have no memory of this place," Gandalf said as he came to a stop in front of three tunnel entrances. So that's where we were. We all sat down and dropped whatever we were carrying. I didn't have anything, so I went and sat with Merry and Pippin, who didn't seem to like the mines at all.

"Are we lost?" Pippin asked, frightened.

"No. I don't think we are. Shh, Gandalf's thinking," Merry said.

"He's right," I added, trying to comfort the hobbits. "Don't worry, everything will work out fine." As I said that, my thoughts turned to the Balrog. I knew what was going to happen, I knew that everything really would be fine, but I wouldn't be able to tell them that. I sighed.

"Merry," Pippin whispered, nudging his best friend.

"What?"

"I'm hungry." Merry rummaged around in his pack before tossing something to Pippin. An apple, I guessed.

I looked up when Frodo stood and quickly walked over to Gandalf. I guess that meant he had seen Gollum. The two of them spoke together in hushed whispers, Frodo occasionally looking around, worried. Eventually he went to sit back down, right as Gandalf stood up.

"Ah! It's that way!" he said, pointing to the leftmost tunnel. We all jumped to our feet, those with packs grabbing them.

"He's remembered!" Merry said, sounding relieved.

"No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down there. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose!" He chuckled and patted the hobbit on the back before leading us down into the tunnel.

We walked for about a mile, going slightly downhill, before stumbling out into an enormous hall. It stretched up farther than I could see in the light of Gandalf's staff, and extended left, right, and ahead, interrupted by huge pillars that supported the ceiling.

"Behold! The great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf!" the wizard said as the light from his staff brightened, giving us a better view of the cavernous hall we were in. My breath caught in my throat as more of the hall was revealed. The ceiling was hundreds of feet above our heads, and even in the stronger light of Gandalf's staff I couldn't see the end of the hall in any direction besides the one we had come from.

"Well there's an eye opener and no mistake!" Sam said behind me. I could tell the others agreed, but none of us said a word. As we looked around, we saw that there was a light coming from what appeared to be a door. We walked toward it, Gimli breaking out into a run as we got nearer.

"Gimli!" Gandalf called after him. We all trotted behind the dwarf and came into another, much smaller room. There were more skeletons littered about, nearly all pierced with arrows. The walls of the room were lined with shelves, some of which were filled, at least partially, with books and volumes. Some lay among the corpses on the floor, their bindings broken and their pages torn.

Looking up, I saw that the light was coming through what appeared to be a window, but I couldn't see outside. It must have been something like a vent that allowed a little bit of light into the room. The light fell on what I knew to be a tomb, at the base of which crouched Gimli. The dwarf was obviously overcome with grief.

Gandalf walked over to him and read from the tomb, "Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." He bowed his head before speaking again. "He is dead, then. It's as I had feared." Gimli cried out again, mourning the death of his cousin.

"We must move on, we cannot linger," Legolas whispered urgently to Aragorn. I knew that we weren't going to leave soon enough, and I knew that before we did we would have to fight. Speaking of which…

I started to walk around, trying to find a dagger or something to use as a weapon. I stumbled over a somewhat rusty blade, but, picking it up, found that it wasn't half bad. It wasn't too heavy, and I could swing it around well enough.

I heard Gandalf reading from the book by the grave. "They are coming…" I turned around just in time to see Pippin reaching for the arrow sticking out of the dead guy's chest on top of the well.

"Pippin, no!" I whispered, but his fingers brushed it right as the words left my lips. It was enough. The skeleton slid back into the well, armor rattling against the sides. It pulled the bucket on a chain down after it, which banged as it fell, apparently making as much noise as it could.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf snapped as he slammed the book shut. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" Pippin looked down, ashamed, before looking back up again in horror as the sound I had been dreading to hear rang out through the halls.

_Boom. Boom boom._ Shit. Sam looked at Frodo's sword, panicking a little when he saw that it was glowing blue. The others looked around in alarm, drawing their own weapons as they ran towards the door. Boromir took a look outside and then popped his head back in as arrows flew toward him.

"They have a cave troll," he said, sounding almost exasperated. Shhiiiitt. Okay, I know that's one of the funniest lines in the movie, but this was not the movie. This was very very real, and that meant that I was going to have to fight orcs and/or a cave troll. Preferably just the former.

Legolas, Aragorn, and Boromir were working on blocking the door against the orcs who, if the sounds were anything to go by, were almost at the door. The hobbits shuffled together kind of behind Gandalf. Gimli had leaped up onto Balin's grave, looking quite mad as he waved two axes around. Legolas, Aragorn, and Boromir had by that time finished with the door and were standing in the front, by me.

Wait, did that mean I was in the front, too? SHHHIIIIITT. I started to stumble backwards just as the doors burst open and Legolas and Aragorn started shooting.

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**Sooo yeah, kind of long chapter... Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I didn't want to make the chapter really really long. Don't worry, I'll try and get the next one up soon so y'all don't have to wait too terribly long. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Happy Fourth of July! Here's Chapter 6; I hope you enjoy it!**

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Orcs rushed into the hall, carrying wicked looking swords that were probably poisoned. They shouted and cheered as they ran, ready to fight.

"Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" Gimli shouted as they ran forward, swinging his axes as they did so.

Two orcs, drawn by his shouting, rushed towards him, swords raised. They were very quickly decapitated. Legolas was shooting arrow after arrow at orc after orc, each one falling almost instantly. Aragorn and Boromir both fought with their swords, swinging at orcs and hewing off limbs and heads. Three of the hobbits had retreated, scared to death, but Sam stepped forward, frying pan in hand. Gandalf was using both his staff and his sword to take out orcs almost as well as Aragorn. What was I doing in all of this? Pretty much standing still, trying desperately to fade into a section of the wall that was not covered in shelves.

It didn't work. An orc spotted me, and, seeing that I was practically defenseless, it started to come toward me, laughing as I tried to scoot away along the wall. I realized that running wasn't going to work. I stood my ground as it lifted its sword and tried to hold mine in a somewhat threatening manner. Needless to say, I failed. The orc brought its sword down, and I barely managed to raise mine in time to block the blow. My arm felt like it was going to break under the pressure, so I let the orc's blade fall and dodged to the side. It swung at me, and I ducked before slashing at its arm. I hit it! Blood dripped from the orc's arm as it hissed at me. I wasn't going to be as easy to kill as it had hoped. Taking the initiative, I lunged forward, forgetting about my lack of shoes as I swung desperately at the orc's body. I missed, but it tripped over a corpse as it stumbled backwards. I took my chance while the orc was unbalanced and leaped at it, only to pause when a cry rang out in the midst of the clamor.

"Frodo!" Aragorn shouted. He had just been supposedly stabbed by the cave troll. We were already this far in? Huh.

I was brought back to reality by a loud shriek from the orc as it jumped at me, barely missing as I stumbled to the side. I wasn't fast enough, though, and his sword cut my shoulder and upper arm. I turned quickly, so that I was facing the orc, whose back was to the wall. Ducking under another blow, I stabbed upwards and finally got it! I had stabbed him in the heart, or near enough. Hot blood flowed down the rusted blade and onto my hand and arm as the orc let out a last shuddering breath. I pulled the sword out and watched the orc as it fell to the floor, dead.

I turned back to the rest of the hall in time to see Legolas shoot the cave troll in the mouth, finally killing it. It fell to the floor, throwing Pippin off as it hit the ground. Aragorn crawled over to Frodo, who lay still on the floor. The Fellowship's faces were devastated as they looked at the hobbit, who looked dead as he lay there. But I knew better.

Sure enough, when Aragorn lifted him, he coughed, breathing heavily. He was alive. Everyone expressed their awe when he showed them the mithril coat he was wearing under his shirt. It had saved him.

_Boom-boom. Boom._ We all turned as the drums sounded once more.

"To the bridge of Khazad-dum!" Gandalf said, before running out of the room. We all followed him, running back into another huge hall that was similar to the one we had come from. "This way!" he shouted at us, pointing the way to a door on the far side of the hall. We all started running towards it. My feet were slapping the hard stone, and somewhere in the back of my mind I thought to myself that all of the impact could not be good for my feet, but I kept going.

My right shoulder really began to hurt as we ran, and I looked at it before remembering the orc. That's when I saw my sword. Apparently I was still carrying it; I had completely forgotten about it. I switched it to my other hand, which made my shoulder feel a little better, and stopped as my companions did the same.

All around us, goblins started crawling out of the ceiling and down the pillars. I did a double take. Yep. They were crawling on the ceiling and actually down pillars. _How do they do that?_ I wondered. Sure, they did it in the movies, but I didn't think they'd actually be able to do it in real life.

They surrounded us; it was a sea of goblins, all staring at us, the Fellowship (and me), as we huddled in a little group. Suddenly, from the far end of the hall, there came a roaring sound, and the door that we had originally come through glowed red. Crap. All of the goblins and orcs ran away, crawling back up the pillars and into the ceiling.

Gandalf stood, his head bowed, as the floor shook and the red light grew brighter.

"What new devilry is this?" Boromir asked, obviously concerned.

"The Balrog," I whispered to myself, earning a look from Legolas and Aragorn as I backed away. Gandalf didn't hear me, though. He continued to stand until, finally, he turned to us.

"A Balrog…a demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you," he said quietly. Everyone heard him, but they all stood still, the idiots. "Run! Quickly!" he shouted, as the light got even brighter, and the Balrog roared again. Finally!

We all ran, almost sprinting down the remainder of the hall, Boromir in the lead. I remembered from the movie that he almost falls to his death on the fake stairs.

"Don't go down the stairs!" I shouted to him. "Turn right! Turn right at the door!" I think he nodded, but I couldn't worry about it too much: I was getting a really bad stitch in my side. Even if he did go straight, Legolas would catch him…hopefully.

We were getting closer and closer to the door. I looked behind, something that I quickly regretted. I thought that I could see a dark shadow amid the red light. The Balrog was getting closer. Turning my attention back to what was in front of me, I saw Boromir head through the door, slowing down. He turned right, going down the real stairs. We all followed, Gandalf running in the rear.

"Lead them on, Aragorn. The bridge is near," he said to Aragorn in the back, who proceeded to head to the front of the group. I ran next to Gimli as we raced down the stairs as fast as possible. Suddenly, we skidded to a stop. It was the huge gap in the stairs. Crap. Legolas hopped over lightly and called to Gandalf when he landed. The wizard jumped over, followed by Boromir, who took Merry and Pippin with him. Right as he jumped, the stairs Gimli, Aragorn, and I were standing on fell away. We all scrambled back, barely making it. Aragorn grabbed Sam and threw him to the other side, where Boromir caught him. He grabbed Gimli, but the dwarf held up a hand.

"Nobody tosses a dwarf!" he said stubbornly. He jumped, but didn't push hard enough to quite make it to the other side. His feet landed on the stairs, but he was unbalanced and started to fall backwards. Legolas, the closest to him, reached out and grabbed his beard. Gimli was not a fan of that move. "Not my beard!" he shouted in protest as he was hauled to his feet.

Aragorn, probably figuring that I couldn't make the jump on my own (and he was quite right) grabbed me and tossed me. I'm still kind of in awe that he was able to do that. I'm not heavy, but I'm not light as a feather, either. Anyway, I flew through the air, landing in Legolas' arms. Wow. I could feel his muscles through his tunic as I was held against him before gently being set on the steps. Why did I notice that in the midst of all of the chaos of running from the Balrog? There were far more serious matters to be thinking about. Like the fact that there was a now twenty foot gap between the stairs Frodo and Aragorn were on and the stairs the other eight of us were on.

Fortunately, some giant chunks of rock were dislodged from the ceiling by the Balrog's movements, which fell and knocked their set of stairs over to ours. Aragorn and Frodo jumped at us, Boromir catching Frodo and Legolas catching Aragorn.

When the two were set back on their feet, we all ran on again, until we came upon the bridge of Khazad-dum. It stretched across a wide chasm and was wide enough for only one person. We all started to run across, single file. I'd never been scared of heights, but running across that bridge kind of freaked me out. It was wide enough to run on, but if you tripped and fell sideways or lost your footing, you were screwed. Fortunately, none of us did, and most of us had made it safely across when we turned to look back. There was Gandalf, standing in the middle of the bridge, and there was the Balrog.

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**Sorry I know it's another cliffhanger! I'll get Chapter 7 out tomorrow, though, don't worry! Please review and let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I got Chapter 7 up! Yay! Thank you to Saphira and NaruVamp for reviewing! I love reading what y'all have to say! I also want to thank all of y'all who are reading my story; I hope you like this chapter!**

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Holy crap. I mean, just wow. That thing was scary. The Balrog was huge, and while its body was completely black, it was covered in flames. It had a whip that seemed to be just made of fire, and in its other hand it had a sword that was the same. Gandalf stood in the middle of the bridge, blocking its path.

"You cannot pass!" he shouted at the Balrog, seemingly unafraid.

"Gandalf!" Frodo shouted. The wizard ignored him as he faced down the Balrog.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun," he said, holding both his staff and his sword in his hands. A glowing white sphere seemed to surround him, which was probably a shield. The Balrog brought its flaming sword down on the wizard, only to be deflected by the white glowing shield sphere.

The Balrog decided it would try to step onto the bridge. It put its foot down, and Gandalf shouted, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" He brought his staff down, striking the bridge before his feet as he said it. Whoa. That was even better than in the movies. The Balrog, disregarding Gandalf, stepped onto the bridge with its other foot, all of its weight now on the bridge. The rock collapsed under it, and the Balrog fell, burning.

We all watched it, and I knew that everyone else thought it was over. But I knew what had to happen. I watched as Gandalf turned, thinking the Balrog was defeated, as it cracked its whip and a thong wrapped itself around Gandalf's knees, dragging him to the edge of the bridge. His staff and sword fell into the chasm.

"Gandalf!" Frodo shouted, clinging to Boromir, who was holding him back. The wizard struggled for a moment, trying to get back onto the bridge, before realizing it was in vain.

"Fly, you fools," he breathed, before letting go.

"No!" Frodo shouted once more as he fought against Boromir.

"Gandalf!" Aragorn shouted, staring at the bridge. The others started to run up the stairs, dodging to avoid arrows being shot at us by orcs on the other side of the chasm.

"Aragorn!" I shouted, ducking one of the arrows. "We must go!" He turned to look at me, and I could see that he was still struggling to accept what had happened. His eyes met mine, and that for some reason seemed to pull him back to reality. "Come on!" I shouted, wincing as another arrow flew past me. He started to move towards me, and I ran up the stairs. By that time, I was stumbling with weariness. I tripped going up, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my feet. We both ran on, coming to the top of the stairs before running forward out of the mines.

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Upon stepping into the open air, I noticed two things. First, the light and warmth of the sun. Second, the freezing cold wind that tore effortlessly through my clothes. Sure, it had been chilly in the mines, but out here it was downright awful. Besides, the Balrog had made things a good bit warmer for us. Speaking of the Balrog…

I looked down at my companions, who by then had gone a few hundred feet away from the mines. I walked down toward them, creeping over the large boulders that lay at the foot of the great mountain. To my right, a stream bubbled, flowing in the direction of what I knew had to be Lorien. Damn, that was a long way away.

By that point, Aragorn had started to try to get people up. I walked over to Merry and Pippin, who were sobbing on the ground together. That was when it hit me. Gandalf was gone. Even though he would come back, I had just watched my friend fall to his death in order to save our lives. I felt tears start to slide down my face as I leaned over to get the two hobbits up.

"Come on, guys, you've got to get up," I said gently to the two hobbits.

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir shouted over to Aragorn, gesturing to the hobbits.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs," the Ranger replied. "We must reach the woods of Lothlorien." He gestured to the area I had originally thought was the forest. Yup. That was a very long way away. Awesome. I wiped the tears off my face with my clean hand. I would need to focus if we were to get to Lorien. I could mourn later.

We started to walk down the slope, staying fairly close to the stream than gurgled by. Eventually the ground started to level out, and patches of grass started to pop up. It felt so good on my feet; you have no idea. After days of hard stone, the grass felt like a plush rug that my feet were sinking into.

We stopped to rest after about an hour of walking. We weren't going at a fast pace, but we were injured and tired, and I couldn't even remember the last time we had eaten. We sat down, thankfully on grass. While Aragorn was treating the others, I took the opportunity to examine my sword. I tried to clean off some of the orc blood, but most of it had dried. Minus the rust, it wasn't in a very bad condition. Looking at the sword reminded me of my wound.

I looked at my right arm in disgust. Pretty much my whole arm was covered in orc blood, my blood, or a mixture of both. I peeled back the sleeve of my shirt, trying to get a better look at my shoulder. It pulled at the wound, which started bleeding again. I saw that it was kind of deep, but not too serious. I was about to go over to the stream to try and wash it when Aragorn came up to me.

"Are you wounded?" he asked, looking with concern at my shoulder.

"No, Aragorn, all this blood on my shoulder is from rolling around in a pile of flowers," I said sarcastically. His mouth twitched, but I could tell that he was exhausted and devastated by Gandalf's "death." "Don't worry, it can wait until Lothlorien; it's not that bad," I said as he knelt next to me.

"I should look at it anyway, just in case the blade was poisoned," he started washing the blood off with a wet cloth. "Did you kill an orc?" he asked, noticing the sword and the black blood on my arm.

"Yeah," I said, unable to keep a touch of pride from my voice.

"You were lucky: the blade was not poisoned. Many receive death for the slaying of their first orc," he said. "But this wound is not shallow. I will bind it, and hopefully you'll receive better care in Lothlorien."

"Thank you," I said as he wrapped my shoulder and arm up. He simply nodded in answer and helped me to my feet. I picked up my sword, and once the others were up we started walking again.

"How far is it to Lothlorien?" Merry asked, and I could tell that he too was worn out.

"It should not take us more than two hours if we travel quickly," Aragorn answered. That was both good and bad news. It was good because soon we would be able to rest in actual safety, but it was bad because we would have to go quickly, and we were all exhausted. Oh well. I tried to push away thoughts about the distance and only focus on the warm bed that I would be given once we got there. It kind of worked.

Aragorn set our pace at a slight jog, which was okay for the first fifteen minutes. After that, my breaths started to come in jagged pants, and my feet began to drag. The sun started to sink as we got to a plain, and the forest became a fuzzy green blur. The grass reached up to the middle of my thigh. It was really soft, but kind of hard to push through after about five minutes of running through it. I looked to the hobbits, who were absolutely dying. The grass came up to their stomachs, and they had to practically beat their way through. Gimli wasn't as short as them, but he was having a hard time of it, too.

"Aragorn, the hobbits," I panted. He came to a stop, looking back at them. "Should we help them?" I asked. He just nodded before calling to Legolas and Boromir.

Aragorn took Frodo, Boromir took Sam, Legolas took Merry, and I got Pippin since he was the lightest. Once I got him on my back, he weighed less than I thought he would, but he was still kind of heavy. At least he held onto my sword for me, which was nice, seeing as my hand had started to cramp, and he was trying very hard not to tug at my right shoulder. With the hobbits on our backs, we all went a good deal slower, but this way we were able to stay in a group.

It took shorter than we had expected to reach the forest, and once we had, we were able to set the hobbits down. Aragorn also let us take a short rest. I lay down on the ground underneath a tree, panting slightly.

I only jumped a little when Legolas' head materialized in my line of sight. "How are you?" he asked, sitting down beside me.

"Mostly tired…Sad, of course…" I said, my voice trailing off. Legolas nodded.

"The mallorn trees can only be found in the forest of Lothlorien," he said. I nodded slightly. "In the spring, golden blossoms grow on the trees in clusters, which bloom in summer, and in the winter, the leaves do not fall, but are still gold, so that the branches are never bare. I wish that we had come here in the summer, that I could see the trees at the height of their beauty."

I shivered at the reminder that it was winter. I had been fine when we were running, and I had hardly noticed the cold, but now that we were still, it was becoming unpleasant. It was then that Aragorn called to us to get going. Legolas smiled as he stood and offered me his hand, and I gladly took it, smiling back despite my exhaustion.

We walked a little farther into the wood, probably a few hundred feet, before we all stopped in surprise as arrows were pointed at our faces. Great.

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**Yeah, I know that's kind of another cliffhanger... Chapter 8 is on it's way, though! Please review and tell me what you think so far!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! I've got Chapter 8 up now, guys! Thank you to Saphira and NaruVamp for reviewing again! I don't want to give away what I have planned for Michela, Saphira, so you'll just have to wait and see! NaruVamp, your question about how far the Fellowship had read will be answered in the chapter after this one, as that had been something that I was also thinking about. Thank y'all again for reviewing!**

Disclaimer: I do not own LoTR, just Michela.

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"The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark," Haldir said, stepping through the other arrow-wielding elves. I could tell that he was their leader; they eyed with him with respect and something akin to fear.

Aragorn said something to Haldir in a language I didn't understand, probably Sindarin. The elf simply looked at the rest of us and told us to come, walking away into the forest.

It wasn't very long before the elves leading us stopped underneath a tree. Haldir called something up in Sindarin, and a ladder dropped down in front of us. He climbed up quickly before the other elves gestured for us to follow. Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli went first. I followed the dwarf, and then the hobbits started to climb. Legolas came last.

Once we were on the flet, we were able to sit down while Haldir and Aragorn talked together, arguing about something, I think. The elf walked over to us after a few minutes, his gaze landing on me. A strange expression crossed his face, but that was probably due to my clothes, which at that point were torn, bloody, dirty beyond belief, and quite possibly scandalous.

"You will stay here for the night. In the morning, you will be taken to the Lady Galadriel, in Caras Galadhon," he said, looking to the others. Relief washed over me when he said that: I would be able to sleep! There were plenty of extra blankets on the flet, so I curled up under about three, a fourth bunched under my head as a pillow. I fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

I was walking through a forest, Lorien, I realized, looking at the trees with the golden leaves and silver trunks. Based on Legolas' description, it was summer. My feet were still bare, but they were clean. I was wearing a flowing white dress that brushed the forest floor as I walked. All around me the sunlight glimmered through the leaves of the trees, and birds sang. I felt safe, comfortable…I was home.

"Michela." I heard a voice call my name, and I turned suddenly. Who was that? I couldn't see anyone around me; I was alone.

"Michela."

"Who's there?" I called, but my voice seemed to fall. The words didn't travel; it was like I was talking into a pillow. The trees started to shiver, and I closed my eyes.

When I opened them, it was dark. A cold wind blew across a barren field, and dead branches creaked, the shells of leaves rattling against each other. I could see a red light in the distance. Was it fire? It was getting closer, and at first I thought that the trees were burning. As it came closer, I saw that it was a great eye, lidless, wreathed in flame. The Eye of Sauron.

I tried to turn, but my feet were rooted to the ground where I stood. I couldn't move, only watch as it came closer and closer, growing bigger and bigger.

"Michela."

* * *

"No!" I shouted, jerking myself awake and startling Aragorn in the process. "S-sorry," I mumbled, realizing that there was no eye, no fire. I was in the flet in Lorien, safer than I had been in a while. I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to slow my racing heart. It kind of worked.

"We must go," he said, pulling me to my feet. I picked up my sword before walking over to the others where they stood.

"The Lady is waiting," Haldir said, gliding down the ladder before the rest of us followed. When we all got to the bottom, we set out, but not before they bound our eyes. "It is not permitted that any see the way to Caras Galadhon. Do not worry, we will guide you; you shall not fall." He came to me, and I could have sworn that he hesitated before tying the strip of cloth around my eyes.

We walked for a few hours at a slow pace, guided by hands on our shoulders. Unlike my dream, there was no sound of birds in the trees; the forest was completely silent. We came to a stop, and our blindfolds were taken off. What we saw was absolutely amazing.

There was a green hill before us, surrounded by a white wall that seemed to be made of the trunks of trees woven together. On the hill were many mallorn trees, and in their branches I thought I saw more flets, similar to what we had slept on, but much larger. The whole hill, trees and all, seemed to be letting off a faint glow.

"Caras Galadhon: the heart of elvendom on earth. It is the home of the Lord Celeborn and Galadriel, Lady of Light," Haldir said as we took it in. He then led us forward, the other elves melting back into the trees, probably returning to their watch on the borders of the forest. We walked forward once more, coming to a gate in the white wall. Two guards bowed and let us through.

Once we were inside, Haldir led us up an ungodly amount of stairs. There were so many, oh my gosh I thought we'd never get to the top. Once we did, though, it was absolutely breath-taking. We stood on one of the highest flets in the tallest tree on the hill, and the whole forest seemed to be spread out beneath us.

We didn't have long to wait until our hosts appeared. The first sign of their coming was a faint glow at the top of a set of stairs which led to another, higher part of the flet we were on. The white light got brighter as they approached, almost gliding down the stairs. When they stood in front of us, it was almost too much to bear. We all kneeled, bowing before two of the most powerful beings in Middle Earth.

"Stand," a gentle voice commanded. We did as we were told, and the light became easier to bear. I looked at Galadriel and was overwhelmed by her beauty. Her golden hair fell past her waist, and while her face was kind, it was also terrifying to look at.

"Nine set out from Rivendell, and nine stand before me, but you did not all come from Rivendell," Celeborn said, looking at me. "Something is different." I bowed my head, knowing that I was out of place. "Tell me where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him."

"He has passed beyond my sight…he has fallen into shadow," Galadriel said, sounding saddened by the news.

"He was taken by both shadow and flame, a Balrog of Morgoth, for we went needlessly into the net of Moria," Legolas spoke up, the grief evident in his voice.

"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life," Galadriel said in reply, looking kindly at us.

"And what of you, girl?" Celeborn asked, turning to me. "What is your purpose here?" Crap. Was he talking to me? _Umm…Well you see, Celeborn, I jumped into a magic black hole in my brother's room and wound up in Moria with the Fellowship in my PJ's._ I figured that response wouldn't work.

"I…I joined the Fellowship before they entered the mines of Moria," I said quietly, looking at his feet. It was then that a switch pretty much flipped, at least for that moment. I squared my shoulders and looked Celeborn in the eye. "Now that I am with them, I will help them fulfill their quest, in whatever way that I may," I finished, my voice strong. At that moment I didn't care if I was filthy, bloody, and downright disgusting. I didn't care that I was wearing torn up clothes from another world. I didn't care that I had no shoes. Right then, I was tired of being looked down upon like I was a helpless little teenager, capable of nothing.

Something flashed in Celeborn's eyes, but I don't think it was anger. He simply inclined his head, seeming to accept my answer. Why did I get the feeling that something was going on? Haldir had been looking at me funny while we were on the flet, and now Celeborn was acting strange (well, strange based off of what I could tell from the movies).

Galadriel spoke, distracting me from my thoughts. "The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all…Yet hope remains while the company is true." She looked at Boromir while she said that, and I saw him tense before dropping his gaze to his feet. She looked at all of us, including me. I almost jumped when I heard her voice inside my head: "Welcome, young one. Fear not: you will find your strength… and much more ere you leave this realm." I looked up, startled, but she had already turned to Merry, who blushed and looked down before long. It seemed that only Aragorn could stand to be-for lack of a better word-examined by Galadriel.

After a few minutes, Galadriel spoke again, this time out loud. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with much sorrow and toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace." She took Celeborn's offered hand, and together they floated back up the stairs.

When they were gone, Haldir stepped forward and said, "Come, I will show you to your sleeping area." He led us back down the stairs, which took forever to get down again, and then we walked about a quarter of a mile to a partially enclosed area on the ground. Nine beds had been set up around the edge, and in the middle there was a place for a fire.

"You will see that we have provided you with some food, a change of clothes, and warm baths," Haldir told us kindly, which was a change from the stern, somewhat gruff manner with which he had treated us when we were still strangers.

We all thanked him profusely for that before staking claims on the beds. I settled for whichever wasn't taken, thrilled that we had beds at all. Once I found my clothes, I rushed off to my bath. The elves had been thoughtful enough to set up two separate bathing areas: one for me and one for the Fellowship. I happily headed off to mine; I had had enough of being dirty.

I came back from my bath to find the Fellowship sprawled either on the ground around the fire or on their beds. I had changed into the clothes provided by the elves: a tunic type thing and breeches. Both were made of an incredibly soft material, and it felt absolutely wonderful after my sweaty and bloodstained t-shirt. I pretty much immediately copied the Fellowship and collapsed on my bed. I fell asleep almost instantly. Again.

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**I hope you enjoyed reading! Please review and let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi! I got Chapter 9 up yay! I hope y'all enjoy it! Thank you, Saphira and BallerinaCowgirl, for your reviews! I love reading them; it makes me so happy!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or any of the characters... :'(

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I was in the forest of Lorien again, by myself, in the white dress. It was summer again, and the birds were singing in the trees. But I knew better than to let my guard down: something was out there.

"Nidiriel." There it was. The voice. But what had it said?

"Nidiriel." Was that a name? Who was Nidiriel? Was she here too? I turned, trying to find her. Maybe she knew what was going on. Maybe she could explain everything. The trees started to shiver again, but I didn't close my eyes.

"Who's there?" I almost shouted. The words hardly left my lips before they withered up and fell out of the air. What was going on? "Who's there?!" I shouted it this time, but nothing happened. The air simply refused to let my voice travel.

I turned around again, looking for someone, anyone. Nidiriel? Instead, I came face to face with the Eye. If I had been able, I would have fallen to the ground. The trees around me shriveled in its heat, which was suffocating me. I cried out, my voice travelling this time. That seemed to amuse the Eye, and I _felt_ it laugh.

"Nidiriel!"

* * *

I sat up in my bed, grabbing for my sword. What was going on? Where was it? I looked around, searching desperately for the Eye, but it wasn't there. I was safe in Lorien, in the camp with the Fellowship. I tried to calm myself down: I was shaking, and my body was covered with a light sheen of sweat. In…and out… In…and out… In…and-

"Michela?" HOLY FREAKING- oh, it was just Legolas. He was sitting up in his bed, which was the closest to mine. "Are you all right?" he asked, seeming genuinely concerned. Did I look that bad?

"Yeah." I gasped. "I'm fine…It was just a dream." I muttered to myself. Just a dream. I laid back down in my bed and dozed off once more.

When I woke up again, the others were moving around the camp. To no one's surprise, the four hobbits were clustered around the fire, cooking and eating the food that we had left from our packs.

I stood, stretching before I walked out to join everyone else. I sat down by Aragorn, who was sharpening his sword. That reminded me that I would need to train, and probably find a better sword than the one I had used to kill the orc.

"Aragorn?" I asked. He looked up at me, which I took as a sign to go on. "If I'm going to be of any use later, once we leave Lorien, I'm going to need to know how to fight." He nodded but didn't say anything, obviously waiting for me to continue. "I'm probably going to need a good deal of training if I want to kill more than one orc per battle. I want to be prepared."

"Are you sure that you want to fight?" he asked quietly, eyeing my shoulder, which was still wrapped up. Did he seriously think that a scratch-even a semi-deep one-would keep me from fighting in the future? Hell no.

"Of course I'm sure! Didn't you hear what I said to Celeborn last night? I will do everything that I can to help you on your quest, and that includes fighting!"

He looked into my eyes, and I held his gaze, willing him to see that I would do whatever it took to fight and help them. He nodded again, seeing that I was completely serious. "Very well. We shall see if you can be trained while we are here."

"Thank you!" I squealed, beaming at him. We sat in silence for a few minutes as Aragorn continued to sharpen his sword. "Aragorn?" I said eventually, suddenly remembering something. He looked up from his sword again. "How far ahead did you read? When you found the book in my world?"

"I did not read the entirety of the book. The last thing I remember reading before going to ask you what was going on was Gandalf's death. I was sure that it couldn't happen, that the book was wrong. When Gandalf did fall…" His voice trailed off, and I could see that he was still devastated by the wizard's death. "When Gandalf did fall, I could hardly believe it. How could it happen? How could people in your world know?"

"I don't know," I said quietly. Aragorn simply nodded. I sighed. At least they didn't know everything that was going to happen.

Aragorn continued to sharpen his sword as I stood up to get some food. Boromir walked over, and, if the expression on his face was anything to go by, he was amused, but by what I didn't know.

"Are you determined to become a hobbit?" he asked, chuckling at me.

"What?" I was completely confused.

"Have you gotten so used to being barefoot that you now scorn the idea of shoes?" he asked.

"Shoes? I don't have any," I said, looking at him.

"There's a pair at the foot of your bed," he informed me, laughing as my face lit up. I had shoes? I must have overlooked them in my exhaustion the night before. I almost ran off, eager to put something on my feet. Boromir hadn't lied. A pair of boots had been set by my bed, and I eagerly put them on. It felt so wonderful to wear shoes again! Words cannot describe what it felt like after days of hard, cold stone.

I almost danced back out to the Fellowship, who, in my absence, had been joined by Haldir. "I hear that you wished to be trained for battle," he said, seeing me.

"Yes, if it's not an inconvenience to anyone," I said, hoping Haldir would train me. Maybe he could tell me what was up with the strange looks I had been given, seeing as he had been giving them.

He nodded, pleased for some reason. "In that case, I shall take it upon myself to train you. We shall start now." He turned and walked out of the camp. I tied my hair back in a ponytail, looking at Legolas, who was looking at me with an odd expression on his face.

"Are you not going to follow Haldir?" he asked me. Wait, he had meant _right now_? I hadn't even had breakfast yet!

"Crap," I muttered, before grabbing a biscuit from the plate by the fire and running after him.

Once I caught up with Haldir, we walked for a short while through the trees in silence. The training ground was only a few hundred yards from the camp. It was a large, clear area, with targets at one end, and a pavilion on the other. We walked toward the pavilion, and Haldir spoke.

"You will need a sword to fight; we will find one for you here." When we stepped into the pavilion, I saw that it was full of weapons. There were swords, daggers, bows and arrows, and long knives similar to what Legolas had. Haldir led me over to the sword section, stooping to grab a light-looking one. He handed it to me, and I took it. It was kind of heavy, but I figured I'd get used to it after a while. I was wrong.

* * *

"Move your feet, you can't just stand still and expect to do anything," Haldir chided me. We had been training for what felt like hours, and my shoulder was burning from all the movement. That sword was _heavy_. I nodded, trying to remember what to do as the elf lunged at me. I blocked his blow, but stepped the wrong way.

"You're dead," he said, pointing to my unguarded neck with his sword. "Again." We tried again, and that time was a little bit better, but I apparently hesitated too long before hitting him. "Dead." It was my abdomen this time.

"Forget what I showed you earlier," Haldir said, obviously exasperated. "Just try to hit me." I adjusted my grip on my sword, glaring at the elf. He stood in front of me, completely at ease. He hadn't even broken a sweat. I lunged at him, swinging at his left arm, but he blocked me. He ducked under my next swing, and I felt his sword at my neck.

"Let me guess, dead," I said, backing away from him. I threw my sword down, breathing hard.

"Are you even trying?" Haldir asked, glaring down at me. "I have trained children who could fight better than you." What did he mean, was I even trying? Of course I was trying! I had been swinging that damn sword at him all morning, trying to hit him. How dare he say I wasn't trying!?

Without thinking, I picked up my sword and leaped at Haldir, the pain in my arm forgotten. I swung at him, my blade locking with his. I pushed back at him, then slid my sword to the side. I jabbed at him, but he jumped back. I ducked to avoid his sword as it flew over my head before lunging forward again. Once more he blocked me, but this time, I knew what he was going to do. Time seemed to slow as he lifted his arm, and I brought my sword up to his wrist. In the same movement, I spun my sword around, or flicked it, I don't know. I was driven by something other than thought. We both watched as his sword left his hand, arcing through the air before landing on the ground. I twitched my wrist, and my sword jumped to his chest, the point resting above his heart.

"Dead," I said.

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**Ooh, she beat Haldir! I wonder how...you'll find out tomorrow! Please review and let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello again! Thank you to AnimeGIRL2014, NaruVamp, and sophi for reviewing! I'm glad y'all are liking the story so far! I hope you enjoy Chapter 10!**

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We both sat on the ground on the edge of the training field. I was panting, but Haldir looked mostly composed. He stood.

"Come with me," he said, offering me his hand. I stood, and we walked away from the training field. Haldir stopped when we got to a stream that ran through the forest and turned to me.

"Nidiriel," he said. I felt the blood drain from my face as I stumbled back from him. Had he just said what I thought I heard him say? He saw my look of panic and stepped toward me. I held my arm out.

"D-don't. Leave me alone." I backed away faster now. How did he know what the voice said in my dream?

"Wait!" Haldir called after me as I turned and started to run. I should have known better. What chance did I have of outrunning an elf? He caught my arm and spun me around. "Nidiriel?" I thought he looked confused and slightly hurt.

"How do you know?" I asked, wrenching my arm from his grip.

"How do I know what?" Haldir was at that point completely confused.

"Nidiriel." How could he not know what I was talking about? "How do you know about that?" I asked, still scared.

"Your name?" he asked, looking at me like I was from another world. Which I was, but still.

"My name?" It had gone beyond weird by that point. "My name is Michela. Who is Nidiriel?"

"You are Nidiriel, my sister. I had thought I would never to see you again," Haldir said, taking a step closer to me.

"Your _what_?" I asked. "No. I'm not from here. I had never seen you before you found us by the border. And in case you hadn't noticed, I happen to be human." A disbelieving look crossed his face as I reached up to touch my round, perfectly normal human ears. When I touched my ears, however, I didn't feel round, perfectly normal human ears. They were pointy. I had pointy ears. I had _pointy elf ears._

I looked back up at Haldir, panicked. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. Did that mean I was an elf? Was I Haldir's sister? No. No, that wasn't possible. I came from Earth, where I did not have pointy elf ears.

"Are you alright?" Haldir asked. "You look slightly…shocked." No shit, Sherlock.

"I…my ears!" was all I could manage to say. I reached up to feel them again. Yup. Still pointy.

"What about them?"

"They're pointy! They're not supposed to be pointy!" Haldir looked at me with a slightly amused, slightly concerned expression.

"Actually, they are supposed to look like that: you are an elf." Wonderful. That was incredibly helpful. Thank you for that.

"But I wasn't when I left home! When I left, my ears were round, and I was human! How did this happen?" I sat down on a root. The only person who I thought would be able to explain everything was Gandalf, but he wasn't available at that moment. As soon as we found him in Fangorn, the two of us were going to have a talk.

"I do not know what to tell you," Haldir said, "only that you are my sister, Nidiriel, who was lost, captured by orcs on the borders of our forest." I looked at him, silently prompting him to continue. Could I be his sister? Was it possible? "We used to fight together, raiding the orc parties that dared to come near our borders. One day, we went out unprepared; the group of orcs was larger than we had originally thought. They carried her off, I thought in the direction of Moria. It was a hundred years ago. I had given up hope that I would ever see my sister again." So…Moria? Was it something in Moria that had done this to me? It had been too dark for anyone to notice my ears while we were in the mines, and when we got out we were all too exhausted to do much besides run to Lothlorien. Maybe, just maybe, he could be right.

"Imagine my surprise two nights ago when you showed up with the Fellowship, running across our borders, recently escaped from Moria," Haldir finished.

"Haldir, I have no memories of being an elf. Ever. How do you explain that?"

He just shrugged. "I can't. But she did always fight better when she was angry," he said with a smile. "And that trick at the end, that was Nidiriel's."

"Galadriel…Galadriel told me in my head that I would find my strength, and much more, before I left Lorien. Do you think this is what she meant?" I asked, trying to piece things together.

"It is possible. The Lady has always been wise beyond the comprehension of mortals; although, you are no mortal." I guess that was her ring, Nenya, that he was talking about, but I didn't know if he knew about it or not, so I didn't say anything. "We have sat long enough. If you want to be ready for battle, we need to get back to training." Haldir and I stood and walked back to the training field.

Elf or not, by the time Haldir was finished with me, I was exhausted. I stumbled back to the Fellowship, practically dragging my sword. My legs hurt from jumping around trying to dodge blows, my arms hurt from holding the sword, and my shoulder felt like it was on fire from all the movement.

I collapsed by the fire, grabbing some of the food that the hobbits cooked. Had they stopped eating since I left? Probably not.

"Michela! You're back!" Pippin shouted, leaping at me. I caught him and gave him a big hug. Merry came next. Frodo and Sam seemed happy to see me, but they hung back. The ring didn't work on Earth, and it had no power, but now that we were back in Middle Earth, its power was growing.

The hobbit's shout drew the others' attention to me, and they came over, asking about my training. They laughed when I told them how awful everything was, but assured me that I would get better. We all sat and joked around for a while, having a good time. About fifteen minutes in, Gimli noticed my ears.

"Lass! Your-your ears!" His expression was one of horror, and I had to struggle not to laugh. "Are you an…an elf?" The others were all looking at my ears now, each and every one of them shocked. Except for Legolas. I think he saw when I had put my hair in a ponytail in the morning, but he either hadn't wanted to tell me or didn't have the time, seeing as I had run off after Haldir.

"I suppose I am," I said quietly. "It doesn't make sense, I know, but what else could I be?" The hobbits were all looking at me in awe. Gimli was no longer horrified; he had toned it down to incredibly shocked.

I told them all what Haldir had told me. I told them that Nidiriel had been his sister, carried off by orcs centuries ago. I told them what Galadriel had said to me. I explained my theory: something happened when I travelled from Earth to Middle Earth and I became an elf somehow. Since I came from Moria, that elf could have just happened to be Nidiriel.

"You all knew me on Earth. You know that I was human before I came here. I just found out today that I am an elf, and believe me, I was shocked, too," I finished, hoping they wouldn't think I had lied to them in order to come with them.

"I do not think that any of us could find an answer to this riddle," Aragorn said when I had finished. "I would ask Gandalf, but he is gone." He bowed his head in grief.

I wanted to say something. I wanted them all to know that Gandalf wasn't gone for good, but I couldn't tell them that. "It will get better," I promised them. "I know that it just happened a few days ago, but things will change soon." That was all I dared to say. They all looked at me, knowing that I knew something.

Eventually, we disbanded, some (the hobbits) going for more food, some heading to bed. I went to take a bath, dirty and sweaty after a day of training. When I was clean, it did not take long for me to fall asleep.

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**Plot twist! I know that was a short chapter, but it was important! What do y'all think will happen next now that she's an elf? Please review!**

**Unfortunately, I won't be able to update for the next few days seeing as I am going camping! Yay for the outdoors!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, I'm back! And I've written Chapter 11! Thank you to Saphira, kyle. hill.7965692, NaruVamp, and BallerinaCowgirl for reviewing! Y'all's reviews keep me writing! I hope you like this chapter!**

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About a week passed in the same manner as the first day in Lorien had: I got up, barely ate anything, and was then dragged off to training. I continued to improve until I only lost to Haldir about half the time. I guess I really did have some weird elf mojo. This morning was different, though.

Haldir walked into our camp and sat down by me as I scarfed down some bread covered in honey and cream. I noticed that he wasn't wearing his sword and pointed it out, confused.

"We will not be training today," he said. "There is someone I want you to meet." I swallowed the last of my breakfast before responding.

"I take it this someone knew me as Nidiriel?" I asked, wondering who it would be.

"Yes," Haldir said, standing and offering me his hand.

"Are you going to tell me who it is, or do I have to wait?"

"It will be a surprise," he said, smiling as he led me out of the camp. We walked in the opposite direction of the training ground for a little while before climbing up a tree (by means of many stairs) to a flet. An elf stood there, his back turned to us, looking over the forest. Haldir cleared his throat, and the elf turned.

"Nidiriel!" I grimaced inwardly at the name but smiled at the elf before me.

"Hello," I said politely, looking at Haldir for an introduction.

"Do you not remember our brother, Celambir?" I looked at Haldir in exasperation. Literally, every time he started a sentence with "Do you not remember" or "Can you recall" the answer had been no. Why would this time be any different?

"I'm afraid not," I said quietly instead of snapping something sarcastic at Haldir. I held out my hand, but Celambir didn't seem to know quite what to do with it. Apparently elves didn't shake hands.

"I am so glad that you have returned to us, Nidiriel," he said, beaming at me.

"Please, call me Michela," I said. Being called Nidiriel still freaked me out. Celambir just gestured for us to sit. We did so as he started to talk again.

"Haldir has told me much about you. I hear that your training is coming along well." He was a nice guy, I had to admit.

"It's alright," I said. Nobody said anything for a few seconds, so I tried to contribute to conversation. "This is a very nice flet you have." I didn't know if elves complimented one another on their flets, but I thought I may as well give it a try. Based on the looks I received from both of them, the answer was apparently no.

"Celambir is the advisor of Lord Celeborn," Haldir said. Was it just me, or did the way he said that seem stiffer than his usual manner of speaking? I looked at Celambir, who bowed his head, concealing a small smile.

The morning passed slowly, and by the time Haldir and I stood to leave, I was eager to be gone. The more Celambir talked, or didn't talk, the more I got the feeling he wasn't as nice as he wanted to seem.

Haldir and I were just about to descend the stairs when Celambir spoke for the last time. "Nidiriel, I would be honored if you would join me for supper tonight. These past hours have been lovely, and I wish to speak with you more." I bowed my head, something I was beginning to learn was a fairly safe thing to do around elves. "And if you wouldn't mind, please dress…appropriately…for a young lady. Your current apparel is not proper," he finished. I just bowed my head again and started walking down the stairs as fast as I could without seeming eager to get away.

I didn't speak until we were far away from Celambir's tree, out of hearing. Then I turned to Haldir.

"What is wrong with you? What was that about? Why would you spring a surprise like that on me without any warning whatsoever?"

He replied calmly, "That was your other brother. It was only proper that you meet him. I have told him about your return. It was only right: you are family. I could not introduce you earlier because he was not in Lorien."

"I don't even know him!" I shouted. "I had no idea what to say, and I sure as hell had no idea what to expect! Do I have any other siblings that I should know about? Are you going to parade me around the forest so that everyone can meet me and see how uncultured I am?"

Haldir didn't seem shaken at all by my outburst. "Celambir and I are your only siblings. I thought you would be pleased to find that you have another brother. It was not my intention to embarrass you, and I am sorry." It was hard to be mad at him once he said that, but I was not going to let him off the hook so easily.

"I would be happy about having another brother or sister, believe me! However, I would like a little bit of a warning before you say 'Here you go, have fun!' I'm supposed to go to dinner with him-and what the crap is up with that? Why does he want to eat with me? Just me? And why do I have to wear a dress? Pants are perfectly fine! I went out in pants all the time-everyone does in my world!" Dammit. I couldn't believe I said that. I quickly closed my mouth and stormed off, heading in the direction of the camp. But Haldir wasn't going to let me go so easily.

"Your world?" he said, jumping in front of me and preventing my escape. "What do you mean, your world? This is your world, and this is your home!" I didn't say anything, just tried to shove past him as tears began to fill my eyes. I thought about my family back on Earth, Mom and Kevin. I missed them. I missed my home, and my room, and my cat. A tear rolled down my cheek as I stood there, Haldir rambling on about how I belonged in Lorien. He paused when he saw that I was crying.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, concern filling his voice. That's when I pretty much collapsed on him, bawling onto his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, trying to comfort me, but I couldn't tell him what was wrong. He couldn't know that I wasn't from Middle Earth.

I heard footsteps quickly coming our way, and tried to pull myself together. Through my blurry vision, I saw long blond hair. Legolas had apparently heard our shouting-we weren't that far from camp-and had come to see what was going on. I wiped the tears from my eyes and saw that Aragorn and most of the Fellowship were trailing after him.

"What's wrong?" Legolas asked. "Michela?" I just shook my head. I knew that if I tried to speak I would fall apart again. I stared at the ground as he stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing," I mumbled. "I'll be there in a minute." Fortunately, they got the hint and walked back to camp.

"I am sorry if I caused you distress," Haldir said quietly after they left. "I honestly thought that you would enjoy speaking with Celambir." I nodded.

"What…what about dinner tonight?" I asked shakily.

"Don't worry about it. Celambir meant well when he asked you to wear a dress. He was not as happy as I was about your choice to join the guard, and he isn't used to you-or any female-walking around wearing breeches. We can find a dress." I smiled when I thought about dress-shopping with the Marchwarden of Lothlorien.

"Okay," I said, my composure for the most part regained. "Will you come with me to dinner?"

"I cannot, I have duty on the borders tonight," he said, and I think he was actually sorry about it.

I laughed. "You're border patrol." I laughed more at the confused expression on his face when he understandably did not get my joke.

I went back to the camp, where the Fellowship greeted me with concerned questions. I just told them that I was homesick, which they understood, before telling them that I wouldn't be eating with them that night. I explained where I had gone and what had happened, including my dinner invitation. The result was not encouraging. Legolas looked slightly alarmed when I told them who Celambir was, and was about to speak when a look from Aragorn silenced him. No one else showed concern, but Legolas and Aragorn were smart enough and knew enough people that their reactions made me more nervous.

I took a bath and tried to make my hair behave, but it only slightly worked. I got it untangled, at least. When I came back to my bed, there was a dress draped across it. I picked it up, holding it against me. It would probably fit really well. I saw that there were shoes, heels, set beside the dress, but I disregarded them. Don't get me wrong: I don't mind heels, but there was no way I was going to go up and down five hundred stairs in them. The dress was long enough that it would conceal my boots.

When I had changed, I came back to the main area of the camp and found Haldir waiting for me. He smiled when I walked toward him, happy to see that the dress fit and that I was willing to wear it.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Thanks," I said in reply, sitting on a log by the fire. I laughed when Haldir grimaced, not pleased by my un-ladylike manners.

"I came to instruct you on the courtesies of elves. You did say that you were embarrassed earlier." Awww! That was so thoughtful of him! "I thought that I would help you, if I could."

"Thanks, Haldir; I appreciate it," I said warmly.

The next hour passed slowly, but not in a bad way. Haldir taught me how to greet Celambir, sit down, stand up, eat, and say good-bye. He was a pretty good teacher, and I eventually got most of it well enough to not be a total disaster.

Haldir stood, offering me his hand. "You will do well tonight, Michela. Celambir only wants to talk to you. Do not fret."

I hugged Haldir, grateful that he had taken the time to show me what to do. "Thank you," I said. "Good luck on border patrol!" He laughed as he walked away into the woods. I made to follow him, when someone grabbed my arm. I jumped, relaxing when I saw that it was just Legolas. The look on his face, however, was not relaxing in the slightest. He pulled me toward him, into the shadows.

"Michela, I need to warn you," he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. We were very close together. It didn't make me uncomfortable, but it certainly wasn't something I was used to. The grip he had on my arm was strong, but not tight. It felt…safe. "Celambir is dangerous. I have met him before, in the halls of my father. I do not know why he wishes to dine with you, but beware."

"What?" I asked, fighting down a wave of panic. "He's just my brother-apparently. Haldir says that he only wants to talk and get to know me better." That didn't make Legolas feel better, if the look on his face was anything to go by, but he nodded and let go of my arm.

"Just be careful, Michela," he breathed in my ear, causing electric signals to race to my brain. I stepped away, nodding.

Was it just me, or was that weird? Legolas had seemed so serious about it, but Haldir had said not to worry. It was all so confusing, finding out about Nidiriel, and then having everyone in Lorien treat me like they would treat her. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and walked towards my brother's tree.

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**I wonder what's gonna happen with Celambir! You'll find out next chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update last night; I just was not in the mood to write. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth, or any of Tolkien's characters, just my OCs.

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I climbed up the last few steps to Celambir's flet, anxiety gnawing at my stomach. I just tried to remember the greetings Haldir had taught me, praying that I wouldn't screw it all up. Celambir rose to his feet when he saw me.

"Greetings, Nidiriel," he said smoothly, bowing his head.

I curtsied, trying not to fall flat on my face. "El sila erin lu e-govaned vin, Celambir." (A star shines upon the hour of our meeting.) My voice was formal; I smiled to try and seem less stiff.

My brother gestured for me to sit at a table that had been set up, and I did so. He sat opposite me, looking pleased for some reason. Legolas' warning rang through my head as Celambir smiled at me. "You look quite beautiful in that dress, Nidiriel." I smiled, trying not to clench my teeth when he called me Nidiriel again. I still wasn't used to it, and it was immensely freaky, seeing as that was what the Eye in my nightmares had called me.

"Thank you, Celambir. Haldir found it for me." I noticed that there was a third chair at the table. Was Celambir expecting company other than me?

"I must say once more, I am ecstatic that you have returned to us. Words cannot express the sorrow and grief Haldir and I felt when you were captured." Was it just my imagination, or did his words seem rehearsed, almost stiff?

"I don't remember much about Lorien, or anything else," I said. And when I said that I meant I remembered absolutely nothing about Lorien. All of my knowledge came from the movies and the books. But he didn't need to know that. "So, what do you do as Celeborn's advisor?"

That question immediately got him going about the many different responsibilities that he had and gave me the opportunity to just sit quietly. Apparently Celambir was very proud of his rank, and, when given the slightest indication that a listener might be interested in his work, he would take off at a hundred miles an hour, explaining what he did to the letter. His monologue was interrupted, however, by the arrival of another elf.

I turned in confusion to the voice that rang out. "Greetings, Celambir."

My brother stood and bowed, gesturing to the empty chair. I could tell by the way Celambir was acting now that the elf was his superior. The elf walked forward and bowed to me. I stood and curtsied, not saying anything.

"Nidiriel, I would like you to meet Tinorin, one of my dear friends." He gestured to the elf, who smiled and politely inclined his head. "Tinorin," Celambir said, turning away from me, "this is my sister, Nidiriel, whom I have told you about." I inclined my head, wondering why Celambir had been talking about me and why Tinorin was with us.

We all took our seats again, and the two of them started to talk, mostly about elf politics, which is just as boring as human politics. I tuned it all out, staring up at the stars through the canopy of branches above us. It was quite nice, and I was just starting to daydream when Celambir cleared his throat, trying to get my attention. Notice how I said trying.

"Nidiriel!" he said sharply.

"Hmm-what?" I asked absently.

"Tinorin asked you a question. Are you not going to answer him?"

"Oh? I'm sorry," I said, turning my attention to the other elf, who seemed fine with the fact that I had let my mind wander. "What was your question?"

"It is alright; do not apologize," he said, smiling. Unlike Celambir, his smile seemed genuine. "I was only wondering: do you plan on rejoining the guard after your unhappy accident?" Why did everyone seem to know about my supposed capture? Whenever Haldir introduced me to someone new, or even when I just met elves on my own, they all seemed to know what had happened. I found out later Celambir, Haldir, and Nidiriel were part of a prominent family in Lothlorien, so news of Nidiriel's capture had spread all over the realm. But back to the story.

"That is an interesting question, Tinorin." Celambir said before turning to me. "Now that you are back with us, will you return to the borders, or will you settle down and think about doing something more…suitable…for a lady?" I could tell that, as Haldir had told me, he wasn't a fan of women fighting. Awesome.

"I believe there are many who would gladly take your hand in marriage," he continued, glancing at Tinorin. NO! So _that_ was what this dinner was all about? Celambir didn't want to get to know me; he wanted to marry me off, preferably to someone equally or more important than him. He sought to increase his rank through me!

What the hell happened to elves marrying for love? Don't they find that one person that they cannot live without? This was all just messed up. But I didn't let my emotions get the better of me.

"Actually, I have other plans. I'm afraid I won't be staying in Lorien for very long," I stated politely, despite the anger bubbling up inside of me. Celambir narrowed his eyes, and I could tell that he wasn't happy with my response.

"And where else would you go, Nidiriel? This is your home," he said coldly. The way he said that last part sent shivers up my spine. It was the same thing Haldir had said to me earlier, but Haldir had meant well. I knew that Haldir wanted what was best for me, even though he spent an inordinate amount of time hitting me with a sword and making me fall over on my ass. Celambir seemed to be ordering me around, commanding me to stay. I felt like if I tried to leave, he would have me locked up.

"I will travel with my companions, aiding them in whatever way that I can and to the best of my abilities," I said strongly, ignoring the glare I was now receiving from across the table.

"What would you be able to do?" He almost sneered at me. "You are a woman. You cannot help them. I tolerated it when you joined the guard, running after Haldir. I could tell that you looked up to him, that you wanted to be like him, to fight. But I knew that it would only be a matter of time before you were captured or slain, as you were." At that point, his eyes filled with something akin to sorrow, and I think that he did actually mourn for Nidiriel. "I will not allow you to join that wandering band of fools, attempting to achieve the impossible." He stood, towering over me. "You will not go with them."

I stood matching his glare. "I will go if I wish, and you will not hinder me. I am not weak, and I will not be told what to do and how to live my life by someone I've never met before." I hurled my words at him. Celambir glared at me for a moment before speaking.

"Tinorin, please excuse us," he said coldly before grabbing my arm and dragging me up another, shorter flight of stairs to another flet. This one had a bed and a washstand, so I assumed it was Celambir's living quarters. He released my arm, almost throwing me back.

"What are you doing? How dare you disrespect me? And in front of a guest, no less!" he hissed at me through clenched teeth.

"I could ask the same of you! You have just met me today, and you're already taking advantage of my position. Why are you trying to marry me off?"

"Marry you off?" Celambir seemed hurt that I would suggest such a thing of him, but then his anger returned in full force. "You are my sister, and you know me to be an honorable elf. I am doing what is best for you and what is best for our family."

"No, you're not!" I spat at him. "You are trying to advance your position by marrying me off to someone more powerful than you! You have no idea what is best for me, and even if you did, you wouldn't want it! Don't elves fall in love with the one they're supposed to be with? We don't arrange court marriages!"

"Do not insult me! I am presenting you with a proper, suitable match! Too long have you acted as if you did not have responsibilities! Tinorin has already agreed to marry you, and if I tell you to do so, you will! Do you not remember that before you were captured, Tinorin was courting you? Haldir and I – your family – thought it a suitable match! You owe it to your family, and you owe it to me, to marry him!"

"I owe it to you to marry a complete stranger? I owe you nothing! I don't know you: I hadn't met you before Haldir brought me to you!" I turned and almost ran to the stairs, but Celambir clawed at my arm and wrenched me around.

"Do not speak as if you are a child, and do not turn your back on me! I have had enough of your disrespect!" His voice dropped lower, and he leaned towards me until there was barely any room between us. I tore my arm from his grip.

"Do not touch me again! I will not be sold off in marriage, and you will not tell me what to do!" I shouted at him before storming down the stairs. When I reached the bottom, I saw that Tinorin had heard at least a little bit of what had passed upstairs. His face was pale, and he looked slightly worried.

I paused and said to him, "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tinorin, but I must now bid you farewell." I then hitched my skirt up to my knees and flew down the stairs, fueled by anger and a little bit of fear. But mostly anger.

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**What do y'all think of Celambir now? I had originally planned to make him kind and sweet and look out for Michela/Nidiriel, but she's already got Haldir for that. But I don't know where all that drama came from! I hope you liked it, though! Please review and tell me what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the wait, especially since this chapter is really short. It's been kinda hard to write the past couple of days. Thank you to Saphira and AnimeGIRL2014 for reviewing; y'all's reviews make me want to write more! I would also like to thank everyone who favorited and/or followed!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, the characters, or Middle Earth. Just Michela.

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I stormed into the camp, looking for something to throw. My gaze landed on the heels still sitting on my bed. I picked one up and hurled it in the direction of Celambir's tree. I know that it didn't go anywhere near his tree (I've never been good at throwing things), but it did almost hit Boromir in the head. He ducked just in time, and it flew over him and hit the tree behind him. I picked up the other one and threw it in the other direction, this time barely missing Legolas. I was too angry to care.

"Are you alright?" Boromir asked, approaching me cautiously.

"No! I am not alright!" I spun around and started pacing, kicking at the ground as I went.

"What happened?" Legolas asked, coming to see why a shoe had been launched at his head.

"That stupid, self-centered, sexist ass just tried to marry me off!" I turned on my heel again.

"What?" the elf said, astounded.

"You heard! He tried to marry me off! We sat down, and then another elf came, and Celambir tried to get me to marry him to advance his position! He told me that I wasn't allowed to go with you guys, that he had tolerated it when I joined the guard! He doesn't even know me! I had never met him before today! What right does he have…" I launched into a tirade, pacing as I went. Eventually I ran out of things to say and stopped, halting my pacing.

Aragorn and Gimli were staring at me from where they were sitting on their beds, and the four hobbits were looking at me, terrified, from the fire. Oops…I guess I let myself get a little out of hand.

"Excuse me," I said, grabbing my tunic and breeches and striding off to go change. When I came back, the Fellowship had gone back to whatever they had been doing before I got there. I threw myself down on my bed and eventually fell asleep.

I was in the woods again. I almost groaned when I realized this, but immediately started looking around for anyone besides the Eye.

"Nidiriel." Seriously? Already? That was fast.

I turned around, desperately searching for someone. I found him. Celambir. What was he doing in my dream? I ran toward him, but he didn't notice me. He was looking at a small child, an elf.

"Nidiriel." He held out his hand to her, and she came. Then another elf, this one a boy, stepped out of the trees. He looked to be in his teens. I guessed that he was Haldir. Nidiriel ran over to him, and he picked her up and swung her around. They seemed happy.

I smiled to myself, wondering if that somehow really could be me. You know, a thousand years ago. The smile slid off my face when a red light approached, burning the trees as it came closer. The three elves ran away, disappearing into the forest, and the Eye drew near.

"Nidiriel." This time it was speaking to me. I turned, and fear filled my heart, paralyzing me. I stood, staring at the Eye, unable to look away. Everything else disappeared: it was just me and the Eye. I fell towards it; the fire was engulfing me. I was burning.

I woke up, freaking out, as usual. What the hell was up those dreams? I lay back on my pillow, trying to think. I needed air. Yes, I know I was already outside, but I needed to get out of the camp. I walked over to the training field, empty in the moonlight, and continued down to the stream where I had first learned that I was an elf. I reached up, feeling my ears. Still pointy.

I sat on a rock and dipped my toes into the stream. Oddly, it wasn't freezing cold, despite the fact that it was winter. It felt good. I looked around. I couldn't see anyone through the trees on either side of the stream. I peeled off my clothes (with the exception of my underwear, just in case), which were sticky with sweat from my dream, and lowered myself down into the water. The current wasn't too swift, so I let myself float for a little bit before swimming back upstream. It was incredibly relaxing.

I stood, my toes barely touching the pebbles on the bottom, and dipped my head under. When I emerged, I saw that someone was walking toward the stream. Crap. I tried to find a rock on the bank to hide behind, but there weren't any. Wait…I knew that blond hair.

Legolas was a few yards away from the water when he saw my clothes. He looked up, alarmed, and saw me in the water. He immediately looked down, blushing.

"I-I am sorry, Michela," he said quickly. "I did not know that you were here." He started walking away.

"Legolas, wait!" I called after him. "Hang on. Don't look." He turned around, and I quickly got out of the stream and put my clothes on. I walked over to him. "What are you doing up?"

"I needed some air," he answered quietly. "Michela, I am so sorry; I had no idea-"

"Legolas, it's fine. Seriously," I cut him off. He nodded, not entirely satisfied.

"Why were you up?"

"I needed some air," I mimicked his response. "I had too many thoughts in my head, and…stupid dreams." I kicked at a small stone, wincing as my toes hit it. "By the way, I'm sorry for yelling at you for ten minutes straight."

He smiled. "It's alright; your anger was understandable. Although I wouldn't mind if next time you don't throw a rather pointy shoe at my head." He laughed. It was a musical laugh, like water gurgling over smooth rocks. I may have stopped thinking a little bit. And walking. And breathing.

"Michela?" Right.

"Sorry," I said, blushing.

"You apologize too much," he stated, nudging me with his elbow. I nudged him back, laughing.

"Sorry about that," I teased. He smiled down at me, and my breath caught in my throat.

"Michela? Are you okay? You seem distracted." Crap. He noticed.

"Yeah…I was just thinking…about…your teeth," I said lamely, mentally kicking myself.

"My teeth?" Legolas sounded as if he didn't know whether to laugh or give me a psychological evaluation. You know, if they had those in Middle Earth. He settled for the former.

"What? They're incredibly straight for someone who's never had braces."

"What are braces?" he asked, still laughing slightly.

So then I had to explain braces and pretty much what orthodontists do for a living. He was horrified by the idea of gluing metal brackets to one's teeth and then attaching a wire to said brackets. It was kind of funny.

By that time, we had made it back to camp. I was feeling much better, and I think Legolas was, too. I had genuinely enjoyed his company, and not just because of his looks.

"Do you wish to sleep again?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I kind of yawned, suddenly tired.

"Can you sleep in clothes that are soaking wet?" His eyes glittered with amusement as I grimaced at my clothes, which were still clinging to my skin, seeing as I had been unable to dry myself off.

"I'll manage," I said grimly.

"Here," Legolas said, stepping behind his bed. "Use this." He handed me one of his spare tunics, which would be big enough on me to serve as a nightgown.

"Thanks," I said, taking it. I smiled in a dazed manner, trying not to lose myself in his eyes as he smiled back. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he said softly before turning back to his bed.

I walked over to my bathing area, which was screened off, and changed into his tunic. Holy crap, it smelled good. The scent was kind of woodsy, but not in a bad way. It was fresh, and it reminded me of Legolas. I guess it was just _him_.

I walked back to my bed, resisting the urge to keep smelling the tunic in case he could see. I crawled into bed, pulling the covers over myself before resting my head on my arm. I fell asleep practically inhaling the fabric, and I didn't dream for the rest of the night.

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**Yay she talked to Legolas! I hope you liked it; please review and let me know (even if you didn't like it, I would love the feedback)!**

**I won't be able to write for a few days again; this time I am going to Maryland for my cousin's wedding. I'll get back to y'all ASAP!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey! I know it's been a while, but I was unable to post in Maryland. But guess who's got all her summer assignments done! So now I'll be able to devote more time to writing! Thank you so much to ilovewolfs1234, AnimeGIRL2014, Saphira, and BallerinaCowgirl for reviewing! I also want to thank everyone who's favorited and/or followed this story and everyone who's reading it now! I hope you like this chapter!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings; all of the books say J. R. R. Tolkien for a reason.

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Haldir didn't come the next day. I wolfed down my breakfast, as usual, and then waited for him to show up. When he didn't, I walked over to the training ground. I couldn't see him anywhere. Upon asking one of the elves where he was, I learned that he was still on the border. I guess I had a free day.

It was then that one of the bows in the weapons pavilion caught my eye. Could I learn to shoot it? Only one way to find out. I almost sprinted back to camp, where I saw Legolas sitting under a tree, looking up at the leaves. Was that seriously all he did while I was training? I was going to have to change that.

"Hey, Legolas," I said, plopping myself down next to him.

"Hello, Michela. Is Haldir not training you today?"

"Nope, he's still on duty. And since he's unavailable, I was wondering if you could teach me how to shoot a bow." I looked at him hopefully. He smiled and stood.

"Of course." He offered me his hand. People here are so polite, well, most people.

We walked over to the training field again, and Legolas helped me pick out a bow that was the right size. In a few minutes we were on the side of the training field with the targets. After showing me how to stand, with my feet spread, facing sideways, he showed me how to hold the bow and arrow.

"Let it rest in your hand, like that," he said, moving my fingers. I tried to ignore the signals that were shooting along my arm and to my brain. It only worked a little. Once I figured out how to hold the arrow to the string without it falling, which took about ten minutes, I shot my first arrow.

I pulled the string back until my hand touched my cheek. I aimed at the target, then released the string. Pain erupted along my forearm.

"Holy shit!" I shouted, dropping the bow. The string had apparently hit my arm when I released it, causing a red welt to form. Legolas ran forward.

"What's the matter?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"The freaking string hit my arm!"

"Oh, yes that can happen. Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it just startled me."

"I'll get you some bracers," he said before running off to the pavilion.

I looked up to see where my arrow had gone. I hit a tree, but it wasn't that bad: the tree was only a couple of feet away from the target.

When Legolas returned, the pain had faded. He began to strap pieces of leather armor to my forearms.

"These will keep the string from hitting your skin," he explained.

"Thanks," I said before picking my bow up off the ground. I turned back to the target and prepared to shoot another arrow.

"Keep your shoulders up when you aim. That will help." He placed a hand on my back and one on my shoulder. For the tiniest second I considered slouching on purpose, but I shoved that idea out of my mind.

I pulled the string back again, trying to focus on the target. It didn't help that Legolas was standing close to me, staring at me. I aimed again, and shot the arrow, this time hitting the target!

I smiled and looked at Legolas. "You are doing well," he said, smiling back. "Try again." I did so, managing to get most of the arrows onto the target. Only a few more hit trees. Yay!

I was pulling arrows out of the trees and the target when Aragorn walked over to Legolas. I saw them speak for a little while, and then Aragorn walked away.

"What was that about?" I asked Legolas when I came back.

"Aragorn needs to speak with me about something. I must go. Keep practicing!" he said before walking away. Huh. What would Aragorn need to discuss with him that I couldn't know about? I knew how everything was going to happen; if it was something about the quest, I could be helpful. I shrugged to myself, then picked up my bow and kept shooting.

I walked back to the camp for lunch after a few hours. I had practiced shooting all morning, and while I had gotten closer to the middle, I had yet to hit the bull's-eye. I sat down by the fire and gladly took the food that was offered to me by the hobbits.

"What've y'all been doing?" I asked them as we ate.

"Nothing much," Pippin said, munching on some toast. "We walk around sometimes, and we've explored the city."

"That sounds cool," I said.

Merry nodded. "The elves mind their own business. They show us around when we ask, which is nice, but usually they're up in the trees."

"I know! They have way too many stairs," I complained, laughing. The hobbits agreed enthusiastically, and we sat together, talking and laughing for a while.

"Have you seen Aragorn and Legolas?" I asked them eventually. Both shook their heads.

"Legolas went with you to the training field, didn't he?" Merry asked.

"Yeah, but after a while Aragorn came up and said something to him, then the two of them walked off." I looked around the camp. Frodo and Sam sat close to the three of us, but were keeping to themselves. Gimli was sharpening his axe, and Boromir was pacing by his bed. What was up with him? I guess it was the ring.

The hobbits, after saying good-bye, had hopped off to find some more food, so I stood and headed over to Boromir. He looked up when he saw me and stopped pacing.

"Hey," I said cheerfully. He nodded and then continued pacing. "Is something wrong?"

"We have lingered here too long. I need to return to my city, to my father." He sounded impatient, and I knew that he was worried about his dad because of what Galadriel had said to him on the first night.

"Your father is fine," I said gently. "Do not worry about him." I knew that he wasn't in any danger – yet.

"How do you know?" he asked angrily, turning on his heel. I just raised my eyebrows and looked at him meaningfully. "Oh, right," he muttered as he resumed his pacing. I took it that he wanted to be alone, so I wandered back to the fire. I flopped down on the ground and stared up at the sky through the trees, watching the clouds slide past overhead.

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I must have dozed off: the next thing I knew, someone was picking me up off the ground.

"Huh-whaaa?" was my lovely response as I struggled to return to the ground. I did, landing rather ungracefully on my butt. I heard laughter and blinked up at the person who had decided to pick me up. It was Legolas.

"What was that for?" I grumbled, brushing leaves off my pants as I stood.

"I apologize. I thought you were asleep, so I was going to put you on your bed," he informed me, chuckling. The nerve that elf has.

"Oh. Well thanks, I guess."

"You were sleeping, right?" he asked, concerned that he had interrupted my completely intelligent musings on the meaning of life.

"Yeah, I think," I laughed. "What were you and Aragorn talking about?"

"He wanted my opinion on whether to go to Minas Tirith or approach Mordor from the north." Okay. Nothing too serious. It wasn't like we were ever going to have to decide that, what with the breaking of the Fellowship. Not that any of them knew that. I just nodded.

By the time we ate dinner, Boromir was back to normal, and Gimli's axe was probably sharp enough to slice through a sack of bricks. We all went to bed pretty much right after dinner. Fortunately, I didn't dream.

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**Yay more Legolas! Thanks for reading; please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's Chapter 15! It's not much, but I hope it's good. Big thank-yous to Hobbitfromtheshire and LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr for reviewing! Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any of the characters... *wistful sigh*

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The days we spent in Lothlorien passed in a blur, and before we knew it, we were packing our bags. The past week or so I had spent training with both the sword and the bow. I hit the bull's-eye a couple of times, and the vast majority of the arrows hit the target. I kept improving with the sword, too. It wasn't as heavy, and now that my shoulder was fully healed, I could swing it without pain.

I stood by my bed. The elves had given me a pack, but I didn't have anything to put in it. I was distracted from my musings by the arrival of Haldir.

"I have come to bid you farewell, Michela," he said. I could tell he was holding something behind his back, but before I could ask what it was, he showed me. "This is for you," he said, handing me a heavy-ish sack. I opened it and saw that he had given me a set of leather armor.

"I know that you intend to fight in whatever battles may come your way," he explained, "and even if you didn't, the road you travel is not safe. I hope this will protect you."

"Thank you!" I said, hugging him. "That means a lot to me." I felt tears start to sting in the back of my eyes but blinked them away. This was not a good time to have another meltdown. I let go of him and turned to put my armor in my pack. Most of the Fellowship had already left the camp.

"Shall we go?" Haldir asked, holding his arm out to me. I said a mental good-bye to the place I had called home ever since I came to Middle Earth before taking it.

We walked down to the boats in silence. The Fellowship was gathered there already; I was the last to arrive.

"Farewell, Michela." Haldir kissed my forehead. "Good luck on your quest."

"Thanks, Haldir. Don't worry, we'll see each other again before it's all over," I said, smiling. "Namarie." I laughed quietly at his astounded expression. "Bye."

I turned and walked over to my companions, who stood in a line before Galadriel and Celeborn. Anxiety gripped me as I looked for Celambir, wondering if he would try to stop me from going, but I didn't see him anywhere.

"Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our people. May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes," Celeborn said to us as various elves fastened the greenish-gray cloaks around us, pinning them with a brooch in the shape of a mallorn leaf.

Galadriel stepped forward and gave Legolas a bow. I couldn't hear what she was saying to him, but I didn't have to. She gave Merry and Pippin their daggers before giving Sam his elvish rope. Frodo was next, receiving a small vial which I knew contained the light of Earendil. I couldn't see what Boromir was given, and Aragorn didn't get anything from Galadriel, although I knew that Celeborn had given him that cool dagger. They spoke together for a while before Galadriel moved to Gimli.

"And what gift would a dwarf ask of the elves?" Galadriel said, close enough for me to hear what she was saying.

"Nothing," Gimli muttered, looking to the ground, "except to look upon the Lady of the Galadhrim one last time, for she is more fair than all the jewels beneath the earth." Galadriel laughed quietly, looking down at Gimli kindly. The dwarf seemed flustered as he spoke again. "Actually, there was one thing…" He trailed off, muttering to himself. "No, no, I couldn't. It's quite impossible. Stupid to ask." He looked up at Galadriel and hesitated before saying, "If I could have just one hair from the Lady's golden head…"

Galadriel smiled at him before plucking out three of her hairs and handing them to the dwarf, who bowed low.

"To you, Michela, I give this sword and this bow. Do not fear: Nidiriel may have been your past, but you will make for yourself a new future," she said as she handed me a sword and a bow that also came with a quiver full of arrows.

"Thank you, Lady Galadriel," I said as I bowed low after taking the gifts.

To my surprise, more elves stepped forward and handed us each a package of lembas. We all bowed again and walked down to the boats. Aragorn had Frodo and Sam, and Boromir had Merry and Pippin, so I got to go with Legolas and Gimli.

We climbed into the boats and pushed off from the shore. Legolas had the paddle, and he seemed to be steering us with ease. I looked back, and Galadriel raised her hand in farewell before turning away. We sat and watched as all of the elves left before we started going again. I had just turned back to look ahead when a voice echoed across the water.

"Nidiriel!" It sounded familiar. I turned and saw that Celambir had come, too late, to try and force me to stay. We weren't close to the shore, but I could tell that he was furious. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him and turned my back on him.

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Splash. Splash. Splash. The sound of Legolas dipping the paddle in the water had gotten really old. We had been on the boats for about four hours, and I was done with them. It had been really cool at first: the forest of Lorien faded to dreary plains that had suddenly reared up into cliffs on either side of the river. After about fifteen minutes of gray rock on both sides, though, I got bored. Gimli hadn't been in the mood to talk; he was most definitely not a fan of the boats. I would have to shout to talk to any of the others, and Legolas had retreated into his own thoughts.

"One hundred bottles of beer on the wall, one hundred bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…" I muttered myself just so that I could do something. I stopped at 71, pretty much done with life. I know I sound really whiny, but I don't do road trips (or in this case river trips) without music.

I decided to look at my sword. It was similar to the one I had trained with, but much nicer. The bow was beautiful. I had no idea what type of wood it was, but it was smooth, with engravings of vines with leaves that wrapped around it. All of that took up the grand total of five minutes.

Aww, hell. I moved over to sit beside Legolas. "Umm, Legolas?"

He looked down at me. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could teach me some Sindarin, at least while we're on these boats." It wasn't like we had anything else to do.

"I'd be glad to," he replied, smiling. "Do you know any words already?"

"Yeah, two," I said. "'Mellon' and 'namarie.'"

He laughed. "It's a start." The day passed with Legolas teaching me Sindarin. It didn't go very fast due to the fact that I asked for spellings, but it wasn't half bad.

And so we floated down the river, sometimes paddling, sometimes just letting the current take us at its leisurely pace.

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**So yeah, kind of a filler chapter... Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! This chapter is a little longer, yay! I hope you like it! Thank you to AnimeGIRL2014, Hobbitfromtheshire, LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, and Brave11 for reviewing! To answer your question, Brave11, I am from the south, so I say y'all a good bit. Michela's also from the south (funny how things work like that ;D), so she talks like that, too. Enjoy!**

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"Legolas, Boromir!" Aragorn called from his boat. "We will go through the night! I wish to reach Amon Hen as quickly as possible!" I inwardly groaned at the thought of sleeping in a boat. Wait-Amon Hen! What was I going to do?

"Aragorn!" I shouted over to him. "How long will it be until we get to Amon Hen?"

"No longer than three days, and I intend to spend at least one night on land before we get there!" he shouted back at me. Okay, I had three days to decide what to do. Of course I wanted to save Boromir, but how would I do it? Merry and Pippin needed to get carried off by orcs, as awful as it is, but I couldn't just let him die. Maybe I could keep him from running after Frodo…No, Frodo needs to talk with Boromir in order to decide to go off on his own. What if I just take out the orc that shoots him, and then tow Boromir away from the hobbits?

"Michela?" Legolas interrupted my thoughts. "Have you been listening to anything I've been saying?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. I'm sorry," I apologized. "What did you say?"

"I just asked if you wished to continue the Sindarin lessons or not," he said patiently.

"Oh! Umm I think I've had enough for one day. Hannon le, mellon nîn?"

"Very good." He smiled. I felt like a child in elementary school again, but I didn't mind, so long as Legolas kept smiling at me. I know that sounds really gooey and awful, and I'm almost ashamed to say it, but it's the truth.

"Legolas, I shall row tonight," Gimli said as he turned around to face us.

"Me too," I piped up. "We can take shifts. You shouldn't have to row all the time."

"Are you sure?" he asked me and Gimli. We both nodded.

"Yeah, but you're going to have to show me how to steer or else we'll probably capsize," I said, earning a nervous laugh from the dwarf.

Legolas showed me how to steer, and then we lapsed back into silence. It grew dark, and I shivered and drew my cloak closer around me. The sun hadn't completely set, but it wasn't shining down into the gorge anymore. After having a bite or two of my lembas, I curled up in the bottom of the boat and tried to sleep, telling the others to wake me when it was my turn to row.

"Lass," someone said, poking my shoulder. "Lass, wake up. It's your turn to row now."

"Go away," I muttered, shaking them off. I wanted to sleep. I had been having an amazing dream, although I couldn't remember it. I tried to turn over, but something was in the way. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in the bottom of a boat. What? Why was I in a small wooden canoe? I opened my eyes more and saw that someone was unsteadily leaning over me.

"Wake up," the gruff voice whispered. Did I know that voice? I sat up and saw in the light of the moon that the shaker had been Gimli. Oh! That's why I was in the boat. We were going down the Anduin. Right.

"I'm up, I'm up," I mumbled, crawling over to the back of the boat. I had to go over the planks that were our seats so as to not step on Legolas. I got to the very back of the boat and grabbed the paddle, blinking to clear my foggy vision.

I saw Gimli almost fall into the bottom of the boat, taking my place at the front. It wasn't long before I heard his snoring over the rushing of the water and the gentle splashes as I dipped my paddle in and out of the water. Pretty soon I got the hang of steering the boat, and we no longer jerked around.

I had no idea what time it was or how long I had been rowing. I figured that my turn lasted through the rest of the night, though, so I paddled all the way until morning.

I yawned and looked up at the sky, which was starting to turn pink. My hands were numb from the cold and from gripping the paddle too long. I laid it across my lap and breathed on my hands, hoping to warm them up a little. It didn't really work. I sighed.

"Something wrong?"

I almost peed myself. "Legolas! Seriously, you cannot do that or I swear I will die. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

He chuckled, raising himself up on his elbows. "You have my sincerest apologies," he said. Did I detect sarcasm? I just rolled my eyes and picked the paddle back up. The elf pulled himself onto a plank to sit.

"At least we'll be spending tonight on land," I said, yawning again.

"I take it you don't like rowing?" Legolas asked.

"No, the rowing part's fine, I just don't want to do it before the sun has risen. I'm not a morning person," I explained. He nodded, and we spent the next few minutes in silence. Pretty soon Gimli started to stir, and by the time the sun was up he was sitting up, staring blearily at the water that was flowing past underneath us.

That day went by pretty much the same way as the day before had, but about halfway through, the cliffs shrunk until they disappeared and we were flanked on either side by grim, dead looking meadows and plains. Those in turn eventually gave way to dark forests, which remained for the rest of our journey down the river.

We stopped that night to sleep on land, which was a wonderful change. After a dinner of lembas, I took first watch, sitting with my back against a tree and my legs stretched out in front of me. Aragorn would have taken the watch, but he and Boromir had stayed up the whole night rowing and hadn't been able to sleep during the day because none of the hobbits could steer the boats.

When the moon was high in the sky, I woke Legolas for his turn. He stood and looked up.

"You have taken most of the watch. Why did you not wake me earlier?"

I shrugged. "I can't tell time by the moon." He laughed and walked a few paces away.

"Michela." I saw that he had stiffened. "Do you sense it?"

"Sense what?"

"There is a dark shadow moving through the land. Something is coming. I fear it will not be long before it is upon us."

"Oh, yeah, that," I said, earning myself a look. "What? I know what's going to happen." That apparently wasn't helpful. "Okay, sorry. How about this?" I deepened my voice and made it more serious. "A shadow lies over my heart, as well. I feel as if the very air is tensing in anticipation of whatever may befall us next."

"Much better," he chuckled.

I headed over to my bedroll and lay down, stretching out as much as I could before falling into a peaceful sleep.

The next day we set out on the river again. I kept mostly to myself: as usual, I had procrastinated, and I really needed to think of a plan to save Boromir. Aragorn had told us in the morning that if we went quickly, we would reach Amon Hen by dusk, which didn't leave me very much time to formulate a plan.

I eventually decided that I would have to somehow distract the orc long enough for Boromir to get away. Killing it would be a plus, but I wasn't entirely sure if I would be able to. I knew that I would have to leave pretty much right after Boromir did, which meant I would have to keep close tabs on him.

I looked over at him in his boat. Was it just me, or was he keeping closer to Aragorn's boat than usual? Hmm. I eventually got tired of staring at Boromir and decided to stare at the water, leaning forward and resting my chin on the edge of the boat.

I was so out of it that I didn't realize we had stopped for lunch until Legolas nudged me gently with his foot.

"Michela?"

"Yeah?"

"We've come ashore. Do you not wish to get out of the boat?"

"Oh, right! Lunch. Yeah, sure." I hopped out of the boat, eager to be on land again.

"Are you okay? You seem distracted." Legolas looked concerned.

"I'm fine. Just pondering the shadow that darkens my heart," I teased, nudging him with my elbow. He nudged me back, causing me to almost topple over. Man, that elf is strong.

After lunch, we got back into the boats and continued down the river. Legolas kept on teaching me Sindarin, which was nice. Once, in the middle of a sentence, he paused, looking up. Seeing as this was a very un-Legolas thing to do, I followed his gaze, turning around, and saw the Argonath. My jaw dropped. The two huge statues reared up before us, and I stared up at them in awe. They were so much cooler than in the movie. Seeing something so huge and so old in person made me feel tiny and insignificant.

"Wow," I breathed. Gimli and Legolas didn't say anything.

We drifted past the huge feet and came out into a large lake, the further end of which was shrouded in mist. I knew that it was Rauros. In the middle of the falls rose a huge, incredibly steep hill of rock, Tol Brandir.

Aragorn led us to the western shore, and we pulled the boats up. "We cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north." Haha nope.

"Oh, yes?" Gimli said as I started to unload the boats. "It's just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impassible labyrinth of razor sharp rocks! And after that, it gets even better!" At this point, Pippin looked up, clearly not encouraged by the dwarf's description of our-as far as they knew-future road. "Festering stinking marshlands as far as the eye can see," he finished.

Aragorn just looked at him. "That is our road. I suggest you get some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf."

That was not the response Gimli had wanted. He huffed off, muttering to himself.

Legolas walked over to Aragorn and I. "We should leave now."

"No," Aragorn replied. "Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness."

"It is not the eastern shore that worries me. A shadow and a threat has been growing on my mind. Something draws near. I can feel it," Legolas said. I started to strap on my armor, as Aragorn walked away, not sure when Frodo and Boromir would run off. "I do not like this," Legolas said, turning to me. "What are you doing?"

"You know, putting my armor on. Just in case," I said. I was buckling my bracers when I heard Merry.

"Where's Frodo?" _Shit_. Not good.

My fingers slipped as I put my belt on. I quickly threw my quiver over my shoulder, grabbed my bow, and took off once I saw that Boromir had left, too.

Which way did they go? I knew that Frodo eventually goes to the platform where he sees the Eye, but what was it called? I needed to figure out which way to go. I couldn't afford to get lost.

"Aragorn!" I called, jogging over to him. "There's a chair, a seat, something on the mountain, where you can see the lands all around. Where is it?"

"The Seat of Seeing? The men of Numenor used to-"

"Yes, that," I interrupted him. I really didn't have time to chat. "Where is it?" Aragorn pointed up to the top of a huge hill. Awesome. That would be fun to run up. Without saying anything else, I raced away in the direction he had shown me.

"Michela?" he called after me as I sprinted away into the trees. I didn't answer.

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***DUN DUN DUNNNNNN* Will she save Boromir? You'll find out next chapter! Please review and let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay I'm really sorry about that! When I uploaded this chapter, something happened, I'm not sure how, so I'm sorry for those of you who read (or tried to read) before I fixed it! Thank you to twibe for pointing that out; I never would have seen it otherwise! Thank you to AnimeGIRL2014, LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, Saphira, and Juliette Morbu for reviewing! Thank you also to everyone who has favorited and/or followed! Enjoy!**

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Distract the orc. Kill the orc. Make sure Boromir gets away.

Distract the orc. Kill the orc. Make sure Boromir gets away.

The genius plan that I had put together ran through my head; that was all that I focused on as I ran up the hill. How would I find Boromir? Amon Hen was not small: it was a mountain for a reason.

That question prompted a change, and I began to think through the movie. Boromir talks to Frodo. Frodo runs away. Boromir trips on a stick or something and realizes what he's done. Aragorn finds Frodo by the Seat of Seeing, and that's where the orcs first show up. Boromir fights to defend Merry and Pippin, and that's where he first gets shot. But he gets shot after he blows the horn of Gondor, so I had a chance of finding him then if I hadn't found him already.

I heard voices up ahead, and I slowed down, not wanting to reveal my presence yet.

"I see your mind! You will take the Ring to Sauron! You will betray us! You go to your death, and to the death of us all! Curse you! Curse you and all the Halflings!" Boromir shouted. So Frodo had gone. I slipped to the side, watching from behind a tree as Boromir tried to run after Frodo, but fell. Smooth.

"Frodo? Frodo?" He seemed to be back to his normal self. "What have I done? Please, Frodo! Frodo, I'm sorry!" The hobbit didn't show himself, though. Boromir shakily stood and wandered away, back in the direction of the camp. I wrapped my cloak around me as he walked past my tree, a few feet away. Fortunately, he didn't see me.

I followed Boromir slowly down the hill, and I was just beginning to wonder when the orcs were going to come when I heard Merry and Pippin shouting over to our right. Boromir immediately took off, and I followed him at a somewhat slower pace, wanting to arrive at the scene of the battle unnoticed. I figured that would give me a better chance of stopping that orc from killing him.

I watched as Boromir leaped at the orcs who had run after the hobbits, quickly killing them. More soon came, though, filling the clearing in which he stood, and in a few minutes, he was badly outnumbered. I grabbed my bow, unable to just sit by and watch as my friends fought for their lives. I shot a few of the orcs who were on the edge, trying to draw as little attention as possible to the fact that someone was in fact shooting at them.

Unfortunately, one of them spotted me and, yelling at his fellow orcs to follow, jumped away from Boromir and towards me. Crap. That was definitely not part of the plan. Luckily, only a few followed him, and, drawing my sword, I proceeded to cut down those that had. I actually surprised myself: it was way easier to fight than I had anticipated. When you're training, you don't have as much adrenaline pumping through your body as you do when the fighting is real, and that makes a huge difference. Now that I actually knew what to do with my sword, I was able to let my adrenaline-fueled instincts take over, both the old and the new.

When I had finished with that group, I slunk around the edge of the clearing towards the orc with the bow. Boromir blew his horn for the first time, and I knew that I had to book it. I stood behind a tree and nocked an arrow just as the orc did. I fired, and actually managed to hit his arm right as he fired his own arrow. I don't think that it actually caused him much pain, due to the fact that he purposefully completely impaled himself on Aragorn's sword (I mean, he eventually would), but I caused him to miss Boromir…and turn his attention to me. Dammit.

I drew my sword, unsure of what to do. He stepped towards me, and it took all of my courage not to back away. The orc growled, and I would swear that he sounded happy, if orcs could be happy. He leaped at me, swinging his sword at my neck, which I barely managed to block. Holy shit, he was strong. I swung at him and cut him along his neck, but it was nothing severe.

We continued to exchange blows, and some part of my brain registered that I had been hit, but I wasn't entirely sure where. I eventually managed to cut his abdomen, and it was pretty deep, but not that effective. I lost my balance as he swung at me yet again, leaning forward, and I fell over, knocking my head against the ground as I did so. He raised his curved, ugly sword, baring his teeth as he prepared to kill me.

I saw a dark blur out of the corner of my eye, a blur that proceeded to knock the orc over and engage it in battle. I saw something silver flying through the air, and I realized that it had to be a sword. Then the blur must have been Aragorn, but why was he blurry? I wiped my hand over my eyes, and it came away bloody. That was why.

Aragorn did that really cool thing where he stabbed the orc in the stomach and then beheaded it in one sweeping motion. I stood up as he walked over to me. "Are you okay?" I asked him. He had blood on his face, but it didn't look too bad. He just nodded.

"The others," he reminded me. Boromir! And the hobbits! I immediately took off as fast as I could go, running into branches as I went. I came upon the clearing and tripped over a log, falling down a ridge I hadn't even realized was there. I landed on my back, which knocked the breath out of my lungs. I turned over to see that Boromir was okay. He was slumped against a tree, but he didn't have any arrows sticking out of him, which I thought was a good sign.

"They took the little ones," he said as Aragorn came after me into the clearing, arriving with much more style than I had. Legolas and Gimli showed up right after that, the former heading over to me as I struggled to sit up. All of the adrenaline had left my system, and my limbs felt like spaghetti noodles.

"Michela, your head," Legolas said, sounding slightly alarmed. That stupid orc had cut my forehead, which was why blood had been spilling into my eyes.

"It's not too bad," I said as he started to wipe away the blood. It actually wasn't very deep, but, being a head wound, it bled a lot. Legolas cleaned it up and then helped me to my feet.

"We need to get back to the boats," Legolas said to the others. We all agreed and started to make our way back to the incredibly temporary camp we had set up. When we got there, we saw that one of the boats was missing.

"Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore!" He started pushing one of the remaining boats into the water, but none of the rest of us moved. "You mean not to follow them."

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," Aragorn said, wiping the orc blood off of his sword.

"Then it has all been in vain. The Fellowship has failed," Gimli said. He sounded defeated, which was rare.

"No, it hasn't. We are together, and we will not give up on the others," I said.

"We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some orc."

"Yes!" Gimli shouted, grinning. I inwardly groaned at the thought of having to run for three days straight. Legolas and Boromir seemed up to the challenge, smiling slightly as we gathered the things that we would need.

Aragorn sheathed his sword and picked up his pack. We all grabbed ours as well before pulling the boats further ashore until they were on the edge of the forest, hidden by various bushes. Then, with Aragorn in the lead, we ran into the forest.

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**And on to The Two Towers! I hope you liked the chapter; please review and tell me what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Here's Chapter 18, which is the start of The Two Towers! Yay! Thanks so much to LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr and BallerinaCowgirl01 for reviewing, and thank you to everyone who has followed and/or favorited!**

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Thud thud thud thud thud. My feet pounded against the ground in a fairly even rhythm. My breath came in shallows gasps, and my head pounded along with my feet. We had been running for two days and nights straight, barely stopping to rest. I had no idea why I hadn't just collapsed yet, but I guess all of my training paid off.

I looked up at Aragorn, whose silhouette was dark against the setting sun. He hadn't slowed down since we left Amon Hen, and I kept getting slower and slower. I ran in front of Gimli and behind Boromir, who hadn't been severely wounded during the skirmish a few days earlier; he had gotten away with a few cuts and bruises. Thankfully, none of us had sustained any severe injuries, although I felt like one huge bruise.

Aragorn slowed down and collapsed on the ground. Was he okay? Did he just decide to quit running? When I got closer to him, I saw that he was just listening, his ear pressed against the ground.

"They maintain the same pace, but they are further ahead of us than they were earlier," he announced when he stood up.

"Aragorn, we should rest," Legolas said. I don't think that he really needed to stop: he had been fairly close to Aragorn for most of the two days. But Gimli and I were having enough trouble breathing, so neither of us were capable of asking for a break. Boromir was too proud to admit that he was tired, although he wasn't as bad as me. I had at that point collapsed on the ground, panting. I hate running.

"We cannot stop; we must keep going," Aragorn insisted. He was right, we had to keep going. We started running without another word, but Aragorn took a slower pace than earlier, which I immensely appreciated.

The night passed fairly quickly; soon the sky started to lighten. This was the third day, so that meant that we would find Pippin's brooch later on. Aragorn started to run faster as the sky got lighter, almost as if the sun gave him energy. Lucky.

We had run for half the day, and I had to work hard to keep moving my legs. It was like a battle of wills: my mind versus gravity and the urge to slump over and not move for a week.

I looked around at our surroundings. They had gradually changed as the days had slid by. We were in a vast, hilly plain that was filled with large rocky outcrops and boulders. I ran up one of the rocky hills to see Aragorn flat against the ground again.

"Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent," he told us as he stood up. "Hurry!" He leaped forward without looking back.

Boromir ran after him, but Legolas paused to look back. "Come on, Gimli!" he shouted to the poor dwarf, who was behind me. I was surprised that I was able to go faster than Gimli, but then again he did have an unfortunate (right now) amount of axes to carry.

"Three days' and nights' pursuit. No food, no rest, no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell," he complained, not unjustly, as we started off again.

"Seriously," I muttered under my breath.

We ran on for a little while longer before Aragorn stopped again, kneeling between two huge boulders. Had we found the brooch already?

"Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall," he said, almost to himself, as I stopped beside him, Legolas, and Boromir.

"Ooh, thank you," I said, relieved that we had come most of the way. Soon I would be able to ride a horse. Woopee!

"They may yet be alive," Legolas said.

"Less than a day ahead of us. Come," Aragorn said as he stood. The four of us turned around as something tumbled down the rock behind us and crashed to the ground. It was Gimli.

"Come! Gimli, we are gaining on them!" Legolas called to the dwarf.

"I am wasted on cross country. We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances!" he huffed as we all started running again.

Soon I saw that Aragorn had stopped yet again. What was it this time? We all stood by him as he looked out over the land.

"Rohan. Home of the Horse Lords." Ooh that was it. Wait-did that mean…? "There is something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us." We walked forward a little bit, and Legolas ran up ahead so as to see better. "Legolas! What do your elf-eyes see?" It was! It was actually happening!

"The Uruks turn northeast!" he called back to us. Okay. It was coming!

"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!" we said together.

"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard-gard-gard-gard-gard! The hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits to Isengard, to Isengard! The hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits to Isengard, to Isengard! They're taking the hobbits to Isengard-gard-g-g-g-gard! Da dadadaaaa dada daaaaa…" I continued, singing the song out loud.

Needless to say, my companions all looked at me as if I had gone crazy, and I burst out laughing at their expressions.

"What on earth are you doing?" Boromir asked. That just made me laugh harder, which wasn't good because I had already been gasping for air.

"It's a song," I explained when I was able to speak. "From Earth…" That explanation really didn't help very much, but whatever. We started running again, the full song playing in my mind as we went.

I was surprised, but not in the good way: even though we found the brooch, we still had to go a whole extra day! What the hell? The sun was setting again, and I think even Aragorn was pretty much done with running.

I collapsed again when we took another break, clutching a stitch at my side.

"Are you alright?" Legolas asked, sitting down beside me.

"There's…a reason…I didn't do sports…on Earth," I gasped. He chuckled at that. I lay there for a while and had just regained my breath when Aragorn stood.

"We must go," he said, sounding tired. This time it was Boromir that spoke up.

"We cannot go on ceaselessly; we must rest some more. The others are weary." He gestured to me and to Gimli, who had joined me on the ground, albeit in a more dignified manner.

"Legolas?" Aragorn asked, looking for support.

"We cannot keep up this pace forever, Aragorn," the elf stated, even though I think he was fine.

"You guys can go on; I know where to find you," I said, only partly joking. If Aragorn didn't agree to a rest, I wasn't entirely sure that I would get up and run again.

"Very well, we shall rest here for the night, although my heart bids me go on. I fear what may befall the others," he said before sitting down.

I curled up in a ball and fell asleep humming "They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard" to myself.

"Michela." Someone was gently shaking my shoulder. "Michela, wake up." I opened my eyes and saw Legolas bending over me, shaking me. Was it time to get up already? I sat up and looked around. Aragorn was getting the others up. Awesome.

"Is it time to go already?" I asked Legolas, who had offered me his hand. I took it, and he pulled me to my feet.

"Yes. It is almost dawn." Because that totally makes it okay to wake people up.

I started stretching, hoping to avoid muscle cramps as we ran the last little bit. If I didn't get a horse today, I would not be happy.

"The red sun rises; blood has been spilled this night," Legolas said a few minutes later. I looked east and saw that the sky and the little bit of the sun that was peeping over the horizon were indeed red. That was good: the Rohirrim had kicked some orc ass.

Fortunately Aragorn started off at a light jog, taking into consideration the fact that five minutes prior to running, we had all been asleep.

I thought it was about halfway through the morning that Aragorn paused on top of a hill before beckoning to us to hurry up. He dragged us behind a large rock, and I noticed the sound of hooves. Hallelujah!

After a few minutes, the horses and their riders galloped past our rock. I saw their long blond hair and their spears that glinted in the sunlight as beneath the riders the horses flew past in black, white, brown, and gray blurs. When they had all passed, Aragorn stepped out onto the hill.

"Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?" he shouted. The lead rider, Eomer, I assumed, signaled to the other riders to turn around. Pretty soon we were surrounded by a ton of horsemen, all of whom were pointing their spears at us. I glared at one that was half a foot from my face before turning as Eomer spoke.

"What business does an elf, two men, a dwarf, and a woman have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!" he commanded.

"I happen to be an elf," I muttered to myself, but seeing as it was quiet, everyone heard. What? I was proud of being an elf!

"The woman should learn to curb her tongue in the presence of men!" one of the Riders said. Seriously? I was going to have deal with that medieval sexist mindset here? Awesome. I noticed that Legolas, who was standing beside me, had stiffened at the rider's comment. I had a really great comeback, but since I was surrounded by spears, I settled for glaring at the asshole, who sat next to Eomer.

"Give me your name, horse master, and I shall give you mine," Gimli spoke up from in front of me. Eomer hopped off his horse.

"I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." I guess that's the Middle Earth equivalent of a diss. Legolas nocked an arrow faster than I could see and pointed it at Eomer.

"You would die before your stroke fell!" The spears all got closer, and I had to lean to avoid being poked by one. I turned and glared at that rider while Aragorn pushed Legolas' bow down.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, this is Gimli son of Gloin, Boromir of Gondor, Michela of Lothlorien, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We are friends of Rohan and of Theoden, your king." I heard a few men whisper to their neighbors when Boromir was introduced. Evidently the son of the Steward of Gondor was known, at least to some, in Rohan, including Eomer, who bowed his head slightly towards Boromir.

"I believe that you and I have at least met before," he said to him. "Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe, not even his own kin," Eomer said, turning to us and removing his helmet. At that, the riders removed their spears from right in front of my face and relaxed. I appreciated that. "My company are those loyal to Rohan, and for that we are banished. The white wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked, and everywhere his spies slip past our nets." He shot a somewhat unfriendly look at Legolas, Gimli, and I as he said that last part.

"We are no spies," Aragorn replied. "We track a party of Uruk-Hai westward across the plain. They have taken two of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed, we slaughtered them during the night." Yes! Way to go, guys!

"But there were two hobbits! Did you see two hobbits with them?" Gimli asked, panicking.

"They would be small, only children to your eyes," Aragorn elaborated.

Eomer shook his head. "We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them." He gestured to a column of dark smoke that was rising in the distance.

"Dead?" Gimli sounded shocked. Boromir hung his head at the news.

"I am sorry," Eomer said, and I thought that he actually did sound sorry. He whistled. "Hasufel, Arod, Dyrstig. May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell." As he said that, three horses trotted forward. Eomer got back on his own horse before turning to us again. "Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope. It is forsaken in these lands. We ride north!" he shouted to his men, and they all galloped off.

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**Please review! :D**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! Sorry about the minor delay; I just was not in the writing mood. But I'm back! Thank you so much to Saphira, aliena wyvern, LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, anon, and Saphira for reviewing! To answer your question, anon, it was just a formatting problem that occurred after I saved the new chapter to the site, but it made it impossible to read it. Thank you also to everyone who has favorited and or followed! Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Lord of the Rings, just Michela.

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We stood still for a few minutes after the riders galloped away. Aragorn eventually walked over to Hasufel and got on, and Legolas walked over to Arod. Once he was up, he held his hand out to me, smiling faintly. What? Wasn't he supposed to ride with Gimli? I inwardly shrugged before taking it and climbing onto the horse behind him. Boromir and Gimli took Dyrstig.

I wrapped my arms around Legolas as we rode off, holding him tight so as not to fall off. _Damn, he has great abs,_ I couldn't help but think to myself.

"Michela?" he said over his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"You needn't hold me so tight; I am having difficulty breathing. I will make sure you do not fall," he assured me as I loosened my grip.

"Oh, sorry," I said. After that, we rode in silence.

It wasn't long before the smell of the burning carcasses reached us, borne on the wind. It was disgusting; I had to work hard not to gag. I saw Boromir and Gimli on Dyrstig; both looked grim as they came to a stop behind Aragorn.

We all got off our horses once we reached the still smoldering pile of burnt orcs. I didn't go any closer to it, instead turning around and walking towards the forest. I heard Aragorn scream, the sound of which was followed by a dull thud as he kicked the helmet. I couldn't help but wonder if his toes were okay.

I turned around to see Aragorn kneeling and staring at the ground where the hobbits had lain. Legolas had bowed his head, his hand over his heart; I guess he was saying the elvish prayer. Gimli and Boromir had both bowed their heads as well, looking defeated.

"They are gone," I heard Boromir say.

"We failed them," Gimli said quietly.

None of us spoke for a minute or so. Aragorn remained where he was, kneeling next to the pile of burnt and mangled limbs and weapons.

"A hobbit lay here, and the other," he said, running his hand over the ground. "They crawled." He slowly started moving towards me. "Their hands were bound." I looked down at the ground, searching for anything that would tell me about the hobbits; how Aragorn was able to tell all of that from scuffed up dirt was way beyond me. A piece of rope that was lying by my feet caught my attention. I picked it up.

"Their bonds were cut," I pointed out, showing the rope to Aragorn. He took it, and then he started searching the ground for footprints. By this time, the others were walking with him, curious about the hobbits' fates.

"They ran over here." He was jogging now, bent over the ground, looking for any sign of the hobbits' passing. "They were followed…The tracks lead away from the battle!" He stopped abruptly, and the others looked up at the menacing trees that were now before us, various expressions of dread on their faces. "Into Fangorn Forest." Legolas alone wasn't worried; he looked intrigued and quite possibly eager to enter and explore the forest. Knowing that nothing bad would happen to us while we were in the forest, I wasn't very worried either, but it certainly did not look inviting, and, had I been travelling alone, I would not have gone in there.

"Fangorn Forest. What madness drove them in there?" Gimli said. Out of the three of them, he looked like he disliked the forest the most.

"Oh, I have no idea. There isn't _anything_ I can think of that Merry and Pippin would have wanted to run away from at the time," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Aragorn didn't say anything; he just walked into the forest. He was still staring at the ground, looking for tracks. I followed him, and Legolas was right behind me. I heard Gimli and Boromir follow us, although not as quickly.

Almost as soon as we stepped under the leaves of the trees, it got harder to breathe, and the light seemed to be dimmer, as if it were fighting to get through, even when there weren't branches in the way. The trunks of the trees were gray in the dim light, and they looked like stone pillars that held up the dark green roof of leaves above our heads.

"Orc blood," I heard Gimli mutter after spitting something out. Why, just why, would you taste a gross-looking black sticky substance on a tree?

"These are strange tracks," Aragorn said, kneeling to examine the ground. I looked down at the ground in front of him and saw huge depressions in the earth that I suppose were in the shape of an Ent's foot. They were huge, probably five feet across.

"The air is so close in here." Gimli was clearly incredibly uncomfortable in this forest, and I have to say, he wasn't the only one. The way sounds didn't travel reminded me too much of the nightmares I had had. I shivered, even though it wasn't particularly cold.

"This forest is old, very old. Full of memory and anger," Legolas informed us, looking up at the trees. Suddenly I heard a groaning noise. I jumped, looking around. "The trees are speaking to each other." Oh, right. Nothing too dangerous.

"Gimli! Lower your axe," Aragorn told the dwarf, who, when the trees started to talk, had taken it out and started to wave it around. I don't think that made the trees very happy.

"The trees are talking to each other?" Boromir asked, looking confused. "How do they speak?"

"They have feelings, my friend," Legolas answered him. "The elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."

"Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about, hmm? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings?" Gimli asked, still looking ex-tree-mely (I know, I know, sorry) uncomfortable at the thought of plants communicating with one another.

"Aragorn, nad no ennas!" Legolas said suddenly. (Something's out there!)

"Man cenich?" he asked, grasping the hilt of his sword. (What do you see?)

"The White Wizard approaches." Gimli and Boromir ran up to Legolas and Aragorn, alarmed. I just sat back, amused.

"Michela?" Boromir was looking at me, obviously wondering why I was just chilling out.

"Don't worry, guys. I'll be here for moral support!" I held back a laugh at their faces when I said that.

"Do not let him speak, he will put a spell on us," Aragorn told the others, drawing his sword as he did so. "We must be quick." Boromir drew his sword, Gimli gripped his axe tighter, raising it, and Legolas nocked an arrow.

At Aragorn's signal, they all turned around, and as they did so, a blinding light burst forth from Gandalf. Not that they knew it was Gandalf. Legolas shot an arrow, which was deflected, as was Gimli's axe, which he had thrown. Boromir and Aragorn's swords got too hot to hold, both glowing red.

"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits," Gandalf said from within his white light.

"Where are they?" Aragorn asked, shielding his eyes.

"They passed this way, the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"

"Who are you?" Aragorn demanded, stepping forward.

"*cough*Gandalf*cough*" I said from behind him, causing Boromir and Legolas to turn and look at me. I just grinned as Gandalf toned down the blinding white light.

"It cannot be!" Aragorn said, amazed, as he saw who it was.

"Forgive me," Legolas added, bowing. Gimli and Boromir copied him. "I mistook you for Saruman."

"I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been," Gandalf told us, his gaze sweeping over us. He paused at Boromir, and I could have sworn I saw an expression of concern cross his features for a brief moment, his eyes flicking to me, but then it passed.

"You fell," Aragorn breathed, still looking up at the wizard in awe.

"Through fire and water. On the lowest dungeon, on the highest peak I fought him, the Balrog of Morgoth, until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside! Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. The stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done." We all looked up at him in awe as he finished his tale.

"Gandalf," Aragorn said.

"Gandalf? Yes, that was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name," he reminisced.

"Gandalf!" Gimli said, sounding back to his normal cheerful self, despite the fact that we were still in the forest, which was driving me partially insane. I knew that the Eye of Sauron wasn't going to appear out of nowhere, but the air reminded me too much of my nightmares for me to be comfortable.

"I am Gandalf the White, and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide." He started walking toward the edge of the forest, and we all followed him. "One stage of your journey is over, another begins. War has come to Rohan, we must ride to Edoras with all speed."

"Edoras?" Gimli didn't sound too happy. "That is no short distance."

"We hear of trouble in Rohan. It goes ill with the king," Aragorn told Gandalf what Eomer had told us earlier. At that point, I was dying for fresh air, and I thought I saw light up ahead. I ran forward, not caring if I missed out on their conversation. It's not like I didn't know what they would say.

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**Yay Gandalf's back! Now to Edoras (in a couple of chapters)! I hope you liked it; please review and let me know!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! I just want to let y'all know that school's coming up in about a week, and I don't know how frequently I'll be able to update what with homework and studying and other such obligations. But I will keep writing! Thanks to LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr and Saphira for reviewing! Thank you to all my readers for reading this and sticking with it! I hope you like this chapter! (I think it's a good one.)**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Lord of the Rings; Legolas would be MINE. I only own Michela!

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I stepped out of the forest, gratefully breathing in air that didn't feel like it was trying to choke me. I tilted my head back and let the light of the sun fall on my face.

"Michela?" I turned, startled. Legolas had come out of the forest alone and was walking towards me.

"Where are the others?" I asked him, not that I minded being alone with him.

"They are coming. I just wanted to make sure you were not lost," he explained. I nodded.

"I couldn't breathe in there," I told him, shuddering.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and I could tell that he was concerned. I couldn't help but wonder if it was a friendly type of concern or maybe something a little more.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just creepy in there. Plus, Gandalf's back!" I smiled.

"Did you know?" he asked.

"Yep," I laughed. "Y'all were funny, freaking out about it." I nudged him with my elbow.

"Not that you were helping," he laughed, nudging me back.

"What? You guys had it all under control!" I laughed quietly when he rolled his eyes.

"Legolas? Michela?" Aragorn called as he stepped out of the trees.

"We were wondering where you had gone off to," Boromir said, joining him.

"Just chatting," I said.

"We do not have time to chat," Gandalf said sharply before whistling for Shadowfax.

"I'm glad you're back, Gandalf. I missed you," I said, smiling at him despite his grumpiness. Even though I had known that he would come back, it had been awful having to see him die. He smiled back before turning his attention to the horse that was running towards us. He was completely white, almost too bright to look at in the light of the sun, and I could tell, even from a distance, that he was stronger and faster than any other horse I had ever seen.

"That is one of the Mearas unless my eyes are cheated by some spell," Legolas said, staring at the horse as he approached us.

"Shadowfax. He's the lord of all horses and has been my friend through many dangers," Gandalf said, stroking Shadowfax as he ran up to the wizard, bowing his head and stamping.

"Where did you get him?" Boromir asked, looking at the horse in awe.

"From Rohan, from the stables of Theoden," Gandalf answered. "The king was not pleased that I took him, but my need was great."

We all hopped up onto our horses, and I sat behind Legolas again, making sure I didn't hold him too tight. We rode through the day, stopping only to water the horses. It was really cool for the first hour or so, when the wind whipped through my hair (in its ponytail) and against my face, but after a while my butt started to get sore. By the time we stopped, well after the sun had set, I was stiff all over, and it hurt to move.

"Dammit," I said under my breath as I dismounted, suddenly stretching muscles that hadn't moved for hours.

"What?" Legolas asked, not sure whether to laugh or act concerned.

"My butt. I've been sitting on that horse for too long," I complained. Legolas decided to laugh.

"You'll get used to it, don't worry; although, I had expected that one who can sleep like a log in a small canoe could deal with sitting on a horse for a few hours," he teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a very sound sleeper, lass," Gimli chipped in. "Once or twice during the nights we rowed, Legolas and I decided that it would be easier to row ourselves than to wake you."

"You guys took my shift?"

"Only once or twice," Legolas said, smiling. "It was quite amusing, actually. I doubt even an orc raid would have woken you." He laughed at the horrified expression on my face. "I don't mind, Michela, stop freaking out."

That caught me off guard. Did Legolas just tell me to stop freaking out? He was starting to talk like I did. It sounded so weird coming out of his mouth that I started laughing, too.

"What on earth are you laughing at, child?" Gandalf asked me as he turned to me. I could see his face in the light of the fire Aragorn had started: he looked as if he had half a mind to have me committed. Of course, that only made me laugh more. I blame part of it on sleep deprivation and severe exhaustion after running around in the middle of nowhere for three days straight.

"Nothing, Gandalf. Just something Legolas said," I answered when I could finally breathe again. I sat down and lay back on the ground, staring up at the sky. I found myself looking for the Big Dipper and Orion as I stared at the stars. It took a minute for me to remember that Middle Earth had different constellations. The thought made me kind of homesick, and I sighed.

"Ever you seem to experience what I have heard you call 'mood swings,'" Boromir said, drawing quotation marks in the air. "What is it this time?"

"The stars. Earth has different stars than Middle Earth, and I kind of miss my old stars. I can't see in this sky any of the constellations that I've known for years…" I told him.

"We shall have to remedy that," Legolas said, lying down next to me. He began to point out the stars and constellations that he knew, telling me their stories. Some of the constellations looked similar to the ones we had on Earth: Valacirca, the Sickle of the Valar, looked kind of like the Big Dipper. It was made by Varda, called Elbereth by the exiled elves, as a challenge to Morgoth, who by that time had taken up residence in Middle Earth.

I stared up at the sky, my head resting on my arm, listening to Legolas talk. Honestly, I could have stayed like that forever. My body, however, had other plans, and after a while, I dropped off.

Unfortunately, I dreamed again. It was the same as the other dreams, but this time without Celambir, Haldir, and a young Nidiriel. The woods burned, and the Eye drew near, laughing at me as I tried to get away. I jolted myself awake again, sitting up.

I looked around and saw that everyone was asleep, except for Gandalf. He stood with his back turned to me, staring out over the land. I saw that Legolas was asleep next to me with his eyes open. Whoa. Did I sleep like that? I guess I did; isn't that how all elves sleep? I had never noticed, either when I woke up or fell asleep, whether or not my eyes were open.

I stood up, not eager to fall asleep again. Gandalf noticed, and he turned around to look at me.

"Come here, Michela," he said quietly, beckoning. "I wish to speak to you, and we shall not be overheard now." I walked over to him, stepping around Gimli, Aragorn, and Boromir. The fire had burned low, but it still glowed red, illuminating the ground as I walked past and dying the bottom of Gandalf's robes ruby red, making them look as if they had been dipped in blood. I shuddered, shoving images from my dream out of my mind.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" I asked, yawning. Gandalf said nothing for a while.

"I did not believe that Boromir was meant to travel beyond Amon Hen," he finally said, staring across the horizon before turning his sharp eyes to me. I looked down, not sure what to say.

"I…I couldn't let him die, Gandalf," I muttered, still looking at the ground.

"Be that as it may, his survival could have serious consequences that neither you nor I can foresee. I understand that he is your friend, and that you meant well in saving him. I just want you to know that not all may be as it should." I nodded.

"I understand, Gandalf. I hope that it won't be anything too serious."

"So do I, Michela."

I sat down next to him, still wishing to avoid sleep. "Gandalf?"

"Yes?"

"Why am I an elf?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my knees.

"Ah, yes. I had thought you might ask that. I trust you are familiar with the story of Nidiriel?" He continued when he saw me nod. "She was indeed taken into the mines of Moria, but I do not know for certain if she died or if she lived. Based on what we know and can safely assume, I think that she did not survive, or she at least was not alive when we arrived. I believe that when you followed us through the portal I was able to create, you became Nidiriel, at least in part. You are, obviously, still Michela, but you also have some of Nidiriel's characteristics. I have heard of your training with Haldir in Lothlorien, and of your skill with a blade. You also, according to Celeborn, Galadriel, and Haldir, with whom I discussed this, look exactly like her, except that your hair is shorter than hers when she was captured. I do not know why you were made to be an elf, but we may trust that the Valar know what they are doing and that there is indeed a reason."

"Okay," I said after thinking that over. "So, Nidiriel's spirit or essence or memories or something was transferred to me when I fell into Moria?"

"Something like that." Gandalf sounded slightly amused by my summary. "I believe it is my turn to ask you a question now."

"We're taking turns?"

"It would seem so." He paused. "Why are you up now? I could tell that your sleep was troubled. What happened?" His voice was full of concern.

"It was just a dream. I…I've been having them ever since the first night in Lothlorien, on the border."

"What happens in this dream?"

I described to him the forest and the feeling of peace and serenity. Then I told him about the Eye, and how it had known both of my names. It had always burned me; I hadn't been able to run; the forest had always burned.

"How could it know, Gandalf? I didn't know about Nidiriel until the next day. How could I dream about it?"

"I do not know. Maybe these dreams were sent by the Valar, or maybe they are simply part of your subconscious trying to piece together what has happened. I honestly cannot tell you the truth. But I am sorry that you are troubled, Michela." I looked up at him, and he was looking down at me, smiling slightly. I felt better just talking to him about it.

"Thanks, Gandalf. For listening. It helped to talk about it, I think," I said.

"You are welcome. It would be best for you to get some rest; we will have another long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, that'll be different," I said as I stood. "'Night, Gandalf."

"Sleep well, Michela."

I laid back down next to Legolas and after a few minutes, I fell asleep again.

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**Interesting conversation, hmm? Let me know what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello! Okay, so exciting news: this story has gotten over fifty reviews! Thank y'all so so much for reviewing; I absolutely love hearing what you have to say! Thank you to Liv, Saphira, and NaruVamp for reviewing since my last update! Also exciting: The Battle of Five Armies trailer! I just saw it yesterday, and it looks so good! I freaked out when I heard Pippin/Billy singing!**

**I don't know if any of you watch Supernatural, but today is also CROATOAN Day! So good luck, and may you have plenty of toilet paper!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings; all of the credit for Middle Earth and the characters goes to Tolkien.

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Aragorn woke me up what felt like minutes later. I opened my eyes-wait, were my eyes closed? I shoved those thoughts out of my mind. It was too early to actually be thinking. It really didn't matter whether or not I slept with my eyes open or closed. I stood up, stretching after sleeping curled up in a ball.

The cold wind was like a slap in the face, and I immediately drew my cloak closer about me, although it was mostly out of habit. I crept over to the others, who were standing around the smoldering remains of Aragorn's fire.

"Good morning," Gandalf greeted me when he saw that I was awake. I just grunted; I don't like to speak until after I've had breakfast and/or coffee. Unfortunately, the latter was unavailable in Middle Earth. Fortunately, nobody else really felt like speaking either. Boromir was staring into the fire, Aragorn was scanning the land surrounding us, Gimli was munching on some lembas, and Legolas was looking at the sky, which was starting to get lighter; the sun hadn't risen yet.

"Well, I do think that we should set off once more, now that we are all awake," Gandalf said after a minute of silence. "It will take us most of the day to get to Edoras." Oh, goody.

We all walked over to our horses, and I suddenly realized that I would probably need to know how to ride a horse in the not-too-distant future. Maybe Legolas would let me ride Arod for a little bit.

Legolas made to get on Arod, but I stopped him. "Can I drive?" I asked. "I figure I should get some hours in before I really need to know how to steer a horse," I explained when I caught the look on his face.

"What do you mean, drive?" Oh. That was what had confused him.

"I meant can I…take the reins?" I asked as I recalled the proper wording.

"Oh! Of course. Do you know how to steer a horse?"

"I think. I've seen you, Aragorn, and Boromir do it."

I managed to get up onto Arod easily enough, and Legolas got on behind me. Ignoring the feel of his hands on my waist, I grabbed the reins and turned Arod to face the others. We all got going, and at first everything was fine. I nudged Arod's sides with my heels, and he went off at a nice trot. I nudged him again, and he started to gallop along with the other horses.

We went at that pace for a while, and nothing happened. The sun was up, and we had been going long enough that I was beginning to feel pretty good about my riding capabilities. I decided that instead of having Arod run around a decent-sized rock that probably came up to my waist, I would have him leap over it. This he did, and very enthusiastically, so enthusiastically, in fact, that upon coming back down, I dropped the reins. Yeah, I know. Way to go, me! They had fallen to the side of his head, so I leaned over to grab them, standing slightly in the stirrups. Unfortunately, Arod didn't know what I was doing, and he must have thought I was about to fall off. Being a well-trained horse, he turned toward me to try to re-balance me (even though I was balanced fine), which actually did unbalance me. As a result, I fell off the horse.

I tumbled into the grass, rolling to break my fall. Legolas immediately noticed my absence; he had actually tried to grab me, but was too late, so he stopped Arod and came back to get me. Unfortunately, the others saw what had happened. They all stopped and waited as Legolas rode Arod over to pick me up. I sat up, spitting out a mouthful of grass before standing and walking over to Legolas, who had gotten off of Arod.

"Are you alright, Michela?" he asked, but I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"I'm fine. You should, uh, probably drive," I said. He laughed at that.

"Are you sure you would not like to try again?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, smacking him on the arm. He got back up on the horse and turned to help me up, this time behind him. We rode back over to the others.

"Do you have enough grass in your hair, lass?" Gimli teased as we rode up. I pulled it out of its ponytail and ran my fingers through it. Sure enough, I had enough grass to feed a horse. Boromir was dying laughing, and even Aragorn was chuckling as I tried to get it all out.

"That was quite a fall," he commented. "I take it you have never ridden a horse before?"

"I have!" I retorted, still trying to get grass out of my hair.

"Oh?" the Ranger asked, amused. "And when was that?"

"A few years ago…" I muttered. Boromir laughed even harder at that, and I think Gimli was running out of air. Even Legolas shook with laughter in front of me, and I whacked him on the shoulder.

"We have lingered long enough; we must make haste to Edoras," Gandalf said, but his tone was not as gruff as I think he intended it to be. Awesome. I guess I was the group comedian. Oh well. I suppose I would have laughed had it been someone else who had fallen off their horse.

We rode on through the morning, and eventually I caught sight of the large hill in the middle of the plains that was Edoras. On the top, I thought I could see a tiny glimmer of gold or really bright yellow.

"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld. There dwells Theoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Theoden is now very strong. Be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here," Gandalf cautioned us as we sat on our horses and looked at the city.

We rode forward after a minute, and it didn't take us very long to reach the gates of Edoras. Two guards stood there, and more were in the small buildings on either side of the gate.

"Gandalf Greyhame," the one on the right said, stepping forward and putting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "you are known to us in Rohan, although we have noted that you only arrive in times of darkness. Why have you come?"

"My companions and I seek council with Theoden, your King," the wizard said. "You may also have noted that I come with answers in the dark times that you speak of, not merely bad news." His tone sharpened, and I could tell that he wasn't pleased.

"Who are your companions?"

"This is Aragorn, son of Arathorn; Boromir, son of Denethor, of Gondor; Gimli, son of Gloin; Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood; and Michela of Lothlorien." He gestured to indicate each of us as he said our names. I saw the guards' eyes widen when Gimli, Legolas, and I were introduced. I guess it wasn't every day that two elves and a dwarf rode up to Edoras.

"Lord Boromir, you also are known to us, although I did not recognize you," the guard said. Boromir nodded. "Welcome to Edoras. You may enter."

"The horses that you ride are from our stables," the other guard observed. "How did you come by them?"

"Lord Eomer gave them to us to aid us in our quest. We have come to return them to their masters, as well as to speak with Theoden King," Aragorn stated, riding forward beside Gandalf.

The guards stepped aside and let us through, shooting us looks as we went. As we rode through the gate, something fluttered down from above. I saw that it was the flag of Rohan, torn loose by the wind. I looked at the guards, but they didn't seem to care very much. They just stared at it as it was blown further away. Huh.

We rode slowly up the winding road, past people who looked out their doors or windows to gape at the strangers. We received many stares, especially Gandalf. Some people recognized him, I think. I got a few looks as well. I had my hair pulled back, and people could clearly see that I was an elf, but they also knew that I was a girl. I think that weirded them out a good bit. Whatever.

Even though everyone was staring at us as we rode by, no one said a word. They all looked incredibly sad and depressed, which was understandable: their king was under the power of an evil sorcerer, and their kingdom was falling into ruin as a result.

"You'd find more cheer in a graveyard," Gimli muttered from behind Boromir. None of us spoke, but I saw Aragorn look up to the Golden Hall. I followed his gaze and saw that Eowyn was standing there, her hair and dress blowing in the wind. I looked back down after a few seconds and returned my attention back to the road and the people. It was all pretty much the same.

It only took us about five minutes to reach the top of the hill, by which time Eowyn had disappeared. We got off of our horses, Legolas helping me down, and walked forward to the hall. I turned and saw that the horses were being led away by some of the guards. Resisting the urge to wave good-bye to Arod, I looked back at Legolas as he touched my arm to get my attention. We continued toward the hall until we stood right before the doors, which opened. Hama stepped out, followed by about six guards.

"Ah." Gandalf seemed pleased for some reason, but I couldn't figure it out.

"I cannot allow you before Theoden King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame, by order of…Grima Wormtongue," Hama announced, and I could tell that he was not pleased by the fact that he had to take orders from Grima. Who could blame him?

Gandalf nodded to us, and we all started to give the guards our weapons. I noticed that they looked shocked as I handed them my sword, bow, and quiver of arrows. Honestly, I thought that in Rohan people would be more accepting about girls actually learning to defend themselves. Hadn't Eowyn said (or would say) that women in this country learned that those without swords can still die upon them?

We had all finished disarming ourselves and by that point were all looking expectantly at the guards (or at least I was). "Your staff," Hama pointed out, looking at Gandalf.

"Oh, no. You would not part an old man from his walking stick," the wizard said, leaning upon his staff a little more. Hama processed that for a minute before nodding and turning around to lead us into the hall.

"These are not the droids you are looking for," I muttered under my breath. Legolas heard, though, and looked at me with an odd look on his face. Pushing down the bubble of laughter that threatened to burst out at that, I followed my companions into the Hall of Meduseld.

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**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review and let me know!**


	22. Chapter 22

**So this chapter is a little shorter (I've been trying to make them longer) but it's not too bad. Thank you to LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, Maethoriel Artemis, and Saphira for reviewing! I'm so glad that y'all like it!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. All of the characters belong to Tolkien.

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The doors slammed shut almost as soon as I was through. Wow. That's friendly. I looked around as I walked forward through the crowd of people that were in the hall. It was all very dark. There was a bit of a fire burning in the hearth in the middle of the hall, and there was a kind-of-skylight above the throne, but other than that, there was hardly any light. There were two rows of columns that were shaped like horses' heads at the top. People stood between them, watching us as we walked forward. At the far end of the hall on the throne sat a really gray pile of hair and dust that was apparently Theoden. Beside him sat an incredibly pale man with shoulder-length black hair that made me wonder if he even knew what a bath was. Wormtongue. Damn, that man looked like he had never seen the sun. I am not joking when I say he was whiter than Edward Cullen. But I digress.

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Theoden King," Gandalf called out, his head held high under the scrutiny of everyone in the hall. Wormtongue leaned over toward Theoden and whispered something in his ear. Theoden muttered something at us, and even I had to strain to hear it.

"Why…should I…welcome you, Gandalf Stormcrow…?" Theoden mumbled into his

beard.

"A just question, my liege," Wormtongue whispered in the king's ear before choosing to stand and walk over to us. "Late is the hour in which this conjuror chooses to appear. Lath-spell I name him; ill news is an ill guest." He smiled as he said that, as if he was sure that we could do nothing against him, that he had complete power.

"This from he whose cells lack the ability to produce melanin," I said, apparently not as quietly as I should have. Grima turned, and his gaze landed on me.

"And what brings you here, lady?" he asked as he bowed mockingly. "A harlot among wandering fools?" Dude, no. Hell no. I stepped forward, about to teach the asshole a lesson, but was restrained by a hand on my shoulder. I looked at Boromir and saw that, while he and the others were furious that Grima had the guts to insult all of us, now was not the time to attack.

"Be silent," Gandalf commanded. "Keep your foreign tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crude words with a witless worm." He raised his staff as he said that, and Wormtongue backed away, his smile sliding off his face, obviously realizing that he was about to get screwed over.

"His staff. I told you to take the wizard's staff," he complained to the guards in a semi-whining manner. And that's when the shit hit the fan.

Gandalf started walking forward toward the throne, and guards started rushing toward us. I immediately stopped paying attention to what was happening with Theoden and focused on attacking the people who had decided to attack us.

One guard came at me, swinging his sword at my neck. I ducked backwards under it, and beamed as I realized that I had had a Matrix moment before decking the guy. I then rushed on and tripped another. He rolled over and pulled himself up, swinging at me, but I grabbed his wrist and twisted. It didn't pop, but, based on his reaction, it certainly didn't feel good. He yanked his arm out of my grasp, and I kneed him in the stomach. He doubled over on the floor, and I moved away, figuring that he wouldn't be very much of a problem. I looked up and saw Legolas elbow that guy in the face without even looking at him. Ugh…so sexy…

I lunged forward as I saw Gimli start to move toward Grima. "He's mine!" I shouted over the sound of Boromir and Aragorn kicking ass and Gandalf battling Saruman via Theoden. Gimli stopped and nodded. I grabbed Grima's arm as he tried to run away and spun him around to face me before punching him as hard as I could in the face. I then kicked him in the stomach so that he flew against a column and slithered onto the ground. I know that was kind of harsh, but that guy sold out his country _and_ insulted me and my friends. He kind of deserved it.

I stepped over to him, putting my foot on his chest, as Gimli had in the movie. "What were you saying about a harlot?" I asked sweetly as he clutched at his nose, which I was pleased to see was bleeding.

I looked up to see that Gandalf had finished with Theoden, whose beard was now growing back into his face. Weird. Aragorn released Eowyn, who immediately ran up to her uncle and helped him sit up. He looked at her for a few seconds before smiling.

"I know your face. Eowyn. Eowyn," Theoden said to her, smiling slightly. She beamed back at him, a tear running down her face as she stood up next to him. "Gandalf?"

"Breathe the free air again, my friend," the wizard said kindly.

"Dark have been my dreams of late," the king said as he looked down at his hands. He seemed unsure of what to do.

"Your fingers would remember their old strength better if they grasped your sword," Gandalf said helpfully as Hama stepped forward, holding Herugrim up and bowing. Theoden reached out, feeling the hilt against his hand, before pulling it from the sheath, standing tall. I was surprised to feel tears in the back of my eyes. It was crazy seeing all of this play out in front of me after having seen it innumerable times on my TV, and it was even better in real life. Just being able to see Theoden there, returned to at least some of his glory, in front of me, in Meduseld, was almost too much.

It was at that moment that the king turned to look at Grima, who was cowering on the floor, still underneath my foot. He shook when Theoden turned to glare at him, raising his arms to shield himself from the blow that he knew was coming. I stepped back from him and two of Theoden's men stepped forward and picked Wormtongue up by the shoulders, dragging him out of the hall. We all followed them out and watched as he was thrown down the stairs, landing on the bottom in a heap. I felt a hand on my shoulder again and looked around to see Legolas, who half smiled at me. I looked back down the stairs as Theoden stormed past us toward Wormtongue, who had at that point started to crawl away. I guess he realized that running (or in his case crawling) was futile because he stopped and looked up at the king.

"I've only ever served you, my lord," he said pathetically, squinting up at Theoden. Like I said, he had probably never seen the sun before.

"Your witchcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast," Theoden pretty much growled at him, stepping closer. He obviously was not pleased with Grima at the moment.

"Send me not from your side!" Wormtongue pleaded as Theoden raised his sword, about to strike. Suddenly Aragorn jumped forward, grabbing the king's arm.

"No, my lord! No, my lord. Let him go. Enough blood has been spilled on his account," Aragorn reasoned with him. Theoden wrenched his arm out of Aragorn's grip and glared down at Grima. He stood back, though, as Aragorn leaned forward and offered his hand to the man who was still curled up on the ground. Naturally, Grima spit on said proffered hand and jumped up, running away. Gross. And a little bit uncalled for.

"Get out of my way!" he shouted at people, shoving his way through them. He ran to the stables, and we all watched as he rode down the hill and out of the gates. I knew where he was going; I'm pretty sure everyone else knew, too, but none of us said anything.

"Hail Theoden King!" Aragorn called out to the people who had gathered around the hall to witness the ordeal that had just passed. Everyone knelt, bowing their heads. My companions and I followed suit, dropping to one knee where we stood at the top of the stairs. Aragorn kneeled, too, right in front of Theoden, who looked out over all of us. It seemed like he was looking for someone.

"Where is Theodred? Where is my son?" He finally broke the silence. I sighed and bowed my head. I knew that Theodred had died. Gimli and Boromir shot me looks from where they were standing. Eowyn walked over to Theoden and took his hand.

She spoke so quietly that I couldn't make out what she said, but it wasn't hard to get the gist. Theoden bowed his head, and he seemed frail once more. He was not a king in that moment, just a father grieving for his son. He turned around and began to walk back to the hall, leaning on Eowyn for support. We stepped aside to let him pass and then followed him back into the hall.

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**Yay, Grima's gone! For now... I hope you liked it! Please please please review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey I'm back! I want to say thank you to Maethoriel Artemis, Brave11, Liv, Saphira, Hobbitfromtheshire, and LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr for reviewing! They all made my day! Thank you also to everyone who has favorited and/or followed and to all of my readers! I seriously love y'all!**

**Before you read this chapter, I just want to let you know that school starts tomorrow *shudders and clings desperately to the last remnants of summer* so I really don't know how often I'll be able to update in the course of the next few weeks. But I promise you I will keep updating!**

**Read on!**

Disclaimer: Tolkien owns Lord of the Rings; not me.

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We entered Meduseld a moment after Theoden did and stood before him. I was surprised to see that in our absence, people had lit torches on the walls that gave the hall a much more welcoming appearance. I could now see that the floor was paved with red and brown flagstones that formed an intricate swirling pattern, and the columns gleamed dully in the light. I could see many tapestries on the walls, as well: some had pictures of horses, others had scenes from great battles, and one that sat in the middle of the wall to my left showed a man with golden hair riding a great white horse into battle. I thought for a second, trying to remember what I knew of Rohan's history from the books; I knew there was a description of that same tapestry in _The Two Towers._ After a second I realized that it was Eorl the Young and that he was riding to the Field of Celebrant.

The king sat on his throne, his head in his hands. After a minute he looked up at us. "Gandalf, would you be so kind as to introduce your companions?"

"This is Aragorn, son of Arathorn," the wizard said, indicating Aragorn. He then continued to go down the line, pointing each of us out. We all bowed when he said our names. I wasn't sure if I should curtsy or not, but I wasn't entirely sure how to do it, and I didn't want to fall over, so I settled for the bow.

Theoden nodded to each of us. "I thank you for coming when you did, Gandalf. I am sure that I shall need your counsel in these dark days that are upon us." Gandalf inclined his head at that, but before any of us could say anything else, Eowyn stepped forward.

"My lords and lady, I am sure that you are weary and hungry. I shall have some food brought out immediately, if that would please you." I nodded eagerly, earning myself a look from Legolas.

"What? Have you seriously not been able to hear my stomach rumbling this whole time?" I asked him.

He laughed as we walked back to the table and sat down. "Rest assured I heard no such thing."

Our conversation quickly ended when food was brought out. It wasn't a lot, but it was good. Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli all dug into the meat, but I didn't want any. I guess that was the elf in me talking. Legolas and I had some cheese and bread covered in butter. Once I was finished eating, I reached for the cup that had sat by my plate all meal. Without thinking about it, I took a huge gulp of what turned out to be ale. I had to work really hard to not spit that stuff out.

"Holy shit," I muttered once I had swallowed. Legolas and Gimli burst out laughing at my expression, and Boromir, when he realized what had happened, joined in. "Does anyone have any water?" I asked down the table, coughing slightly. No one did, but I was brought a cup. I quickly downed it, trying to get rid of the awful taste of the ale.

Gimli was still wiping tears from his eyes when we had all finished eating. "Lass, if I ever forget that moment right there, you'll know my time here is over," he said, chuckling. I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Lady Michela?" I turned to see Eowyn standing by the table.

"Yes, Lady Eowyn?" I said as I attempted to curtsy this time. It was a bit wobbly, but I didn't fall over.

"I have had your room prepared, if you would like to change into some different clothes or wash up," she said politely.

I beamed at her. "That would be wonderful. Would it be alright if I retrieved my weapons first?" She nodded, and I walked outside with my companions to where the guards still had our weapons. It felt good to put my sword back on my belt and to have my bow slung over my shoulder again. I think the others felt the same, especially Gimli.

I walked back into the hall, and Eowyn showed me the way to my room. When she opened the door, I gasped. I had a huge bed that was covered in pillows and fluffy blankets. In one corner stood a wardrobe-type thing that I assumed was filled with dresses and other clothes. On the other side of the same wall there was a door that turned out to conceal a bathtub that was already filled with hot water. Yes! There was also a fireplace and a small sofa in the room.

"Thank you so much!" I squealed, turning to look at Eowyn.

She smiled back at me. "If there is anything that you need, please do not hesitate to ask. I shall send a maid to help you dress for dinner tonight," she told me.

I didn't know what else to say, so I just curtsied. She smiled once more and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. I pretty much immediately stripped and ran to the bathroom, eager to take a bath. When I was done, I wrapped myself up in a towel and walked over to the wardrobe. There were about ten different dresses, as well as different tunics and tights. Shoes lined the bottom, as well. Wow.

I figured that there were still a couple of hours to kill before dinner, so I put on a pair of leggings and a tunic before going out to find the others. They were sitting in the main hall, talking about where to go next. I plopped myself down next to Aragorn, across from Legolas.

"We should go to Minas Tirith, to my city. There we will find the strength that we need in numbers," Boromir was saying. Surprise. Even though Frodo and the Ring had completely left us, he still really wanted to go back to Gondor.

"What good would that do us, Boromir?" Aragorn asked. "The best thing to do right now is to wait until we know what will happen next. There are too many things that Sauron could do, and now that Saruman is fighting with him, we do not know where they will choose to strike next."

"That is why we should gather my people. Our strength will be enough to hold them back." Boromir continued to try to reason with Aragorn. I heaved a sigh at the stubbornness of men.

"Do you have something to say, Michela?" Boromir turned on me.

"Nope. I just agree with Aragorn. Besides, what happened to trying to keep Gondor safe? I thought reclaiming Osgiliath was a priority." Ugh. So I kind of just gave away a semi-major detail, but whatever. Boromir had fought to try and get Osgiliath back, too. It wasn't a new thing.

"How do you know of that?" he asked, slightly shocked.

"Seriously, do you not remember that one time when Aragorn stormed into my kitchen and made me explain why there was a book in my room that contained every detail of y'all's journey?" I snapped quietly at him. Don't get me wrong, Boromir's a cool guy, but the whole "we should go back to my city because Gondor is the best place ever" thing was getting really old.

"Ahh. Yes, I do recall that," Boromir said quietly. We all kind of shut up then, and I put my head down on the table, still worn out from the four-day run. I planned on sleeping very well in my bed.

I heard Legolas stand up. "I am going to walk around outside. Does anyone wish to accompany me?" I stood up. I needed something to do.

"I'll go." He smiled at me as I stretched, and then we walked out together.

The sun was working on making its way westward, and a breeze tugged at my hair. I looked over at Legolas. His hair was perfect. No frizz, no strands on the wrong side of his face. It really wasn't fair.

"Legolas?" I decided to ask him about it. Maybe he had some mystical elf hair care products that I could get my hands on.

"Yes?"

"How do you keep your hair so straight and smooth?" I did not get an answer for a while because Legolas immediately busted out laughing. He had tears streaming down his face once more, and people (mainly guards) were coming over to see what the hell was going on. I sat down on the top of the steps and waited for the laughter to abate. It did at last, and he came to sit by me.

"Michela, I honestly do not think that I have ever laughed so hard in my life," he said, wiping away tears.

"Wow. What exactly was so funny about my question? Girls back home would kill to have hair that never gets frizzy or blown out of place by the slightest breeze."

"I do not usually put very much thought into my hair, and because of that, I am afraid I cannot tell you the apparently highly-coveted secret to smooth hair."

"Oh…Okay." Dammit. I had been hoping for more than that. Oh well. "Should we walk around, then?"

We both stood and walked down the stairs, receiving many looks from the guards and other people who had heard the laughter.

"So, why did you ask about my hair?" Legolas asked me as we sat on a small hill about a hundred yards away from the gate, looking out over the plains.

"Like I said before, the secret to flawlessly smooth hair is sought by many girls in my world," I explained.

"Why?"

"It looks good. Nobody wants to have to go to school with awful frizzy hair that is absolutely untamable."

"It seems that people in your world care a lot about looks and appearances," Legolas said thoughtfully.

"They do. The better you look, the more people seem to like you. It's kind of a screwed up system, but whatever. You find people that you can talk to about things that you like, and then looks don't really matter. It's just mostly people that you don't know that care so much."

Legolas nodded, seeming to understand.

"But, just out of curiosity, have you ever met an elf with frizzy hair?"

Legolas chuckled at that question, but was able to keep himself in check. "I do not think that I have."

"Okay," I said, mostly satisfied. I guess it was just an elf thing. Yeah, I know that I'm an elf, but my hair never seems to behave as well as Legolas' does.

"We should head back to the hall before supper," he said, standing and offering me his hand.

"Eowyn told me that she'd send someone to help dress me for dinner. When is that?"

"It should not be in more than an hour," he told me.

"I've got to get back!" I started running back to the city, hoping that I wouldn't end up being late. I heard Legolas laugh before he started to jog behind me.

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**I hope you liked that chapter! Like I said, I don't know quite how often I'll be able to update, but please review! Hearing what you have to say encourages me to write more, especially with school here! Thank you!1!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Guys, I survived my first day! And I didn't have too much homework, so I was able to write this! I hope it's okay; it's kinda late and I didn't completely proofread it, but I'll look over it another time. Thank you to Hobbitfromtheshire and LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr for reviewing! Enjoy!**

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I burst through the doors of the main hall, startling Aragorn, Gimli, and Boromir, who were still sitting at the table.

"Where are you going?" Boromir called after me. I didn't answer, I just ran down the hall until I got to my room.

When I opened the door, I saw that a girl was sitting on the chest at the foot of my bed. She stood when I came in and curtsied.

"Lady Michela."

"Hello!" I said, slightly out of breath. It was a really big hill.

"Lady Eowyn sent me to help you dress for supper tonight. It will not be very formal, but it is proper to wear a gown when dining with the King."

"Okay. That sounds good," I said, placing my weapons on the chest where she had been sitting. "What's your name?"

"Freda, my lady," she said, curtsying again. I smiled to myself; I suppose Freda is a popular Rohirric name, like Sarah or Jacob back on Earth. Freda had long blond hair that was in a braid that ran down her back. She looked to be a little younger than me, maybe fourteen or fifteen.

"It's nice to meet you, Freda, but please don't call me lady," I said. "So what should I wear? I've never eaten with a king before."

She walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a dress. "This would be suitable, my lady." I grimaced inwardly at the title, but I liked the dress. It was light blue, with long sleeves that would look like wings if I held my arms out. The neck scooped down, but didn't look like it would go too low. There was a silver belt that went down the middle to the floor.

"Awesome! Shall we get it on?" Freda looked slightly surprised by my informal manner of speaking, but she helped me to get the dress on. I looked in the mirror when we were done. The dress flattered my figure, and I liked the color.

"What shoes will you wear, my lady?" Freda asked, walking over to my wardrobe.

"My boots should be fine, right? It's not like anyone'll see them."

"If you wish to wear your boots, then you may, my lady," she said quietly, her eyes glancing towards the floor.

"Freda, please, please don't call me lady. I'm really not used to it," I explained, trying to get her to chill about that. I smiled at her, and she grinned back a little bit, so I figured that maybe I had made some headway.

"Do you require anymore assistance?" she asked, kindly leaving off the title.

"Nope," I said, smiling. "Thank you for helping me get dressed."

Freda just curtsied and left the room. I turned my attention to my hair. I didn't want to just leave it down, so I braided one chunk on either side of my head, revealing my pointed ears, and joined them in the back. It was fairly simple, but it worked.

I had just finished when there was a knock on the door. I walked over to get it, and saw that Eowyn was standing there, dressed in a white gown with a golden belt that fell to the floor.

"Hello, Lady Michela," she greeted me. "Are you ready to go to supper?"

"Yes," I said, smiling at her.

I walked out of my room, closing the door, and Eowyn led me back to the main hall, but that wasn't where we were eating. The smaller dining hall was apparently in a different section of Meduseld.

"It is unusual to see a woman – elf – such as yourself traveling with such companions as yours," Eowyn said, but her tone wasn't unfriendly. "Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Al-" I started, but caught myself just in time. I cleared my throat, hoping she wouldn't notice my almost-slip-up. "Lothlorien, the Golden Wood."

"I have heard of that land, but I have never been there. It is said that no mortals are allowed entry." She looked at me for confirmation.

"Some are. My companions were allowed in; that is where we got our cloaks," I explained. I didn't know that much about Lothlorien, since it wasn't really _my_ homeland, so I decided to change the subject. "Where have you been in Middle Earth? I have not seen very much yet."

She noticed the switch, but fortunately didn't say anything about it. "When I was a young girl, I lived here with my mother, but we used to journey with King Theoden to Minas Tirith on diplomatic trips. Have you ever seen the White City?" Her eyes glistened as she spoke of Gondor, of distant lands.

"I have not, but I will soon. I plan on journeying there in a few months or so." I didn't tell her the circumstances in which I would be journeying there, but thankfully she didn't pry. I liked Eowyn. She was quiet, but so was I.

It was at that time that we arrived at the dining hall. There weren't very many people there, but that was fine with me. Theoden sat at a table on a part of the room where the floor was raised. With him sat Hama and Gamling, as well as Gandalf and a few others that I didn't recognize. Eowyn left me to go sit at that table. My companions were at the table closest to Theoden's. Aragorn sat in the middle with Legolas and Boromir at either side. One of the nobles of Theoden's court sat next to Boromir, but nobody was next to Legolas. I assumed that seat was mine.

"Hey guys," I said as I sat down between Legolas and Gimli. "How's life?" They both smiled at me before answering.

"I am well, if that is what you are asking," Legolas said.

"We're all doing very well, lass. You should try the ale: it's particularly good," Gimli teased, winking at me. I laughed along with them and put some food on my plate. I ate pretty much the same thing for dinner as I had had for lunch: bread and cheese.

While everyone else was talking, I looked around at the other tables in the hall. There weren't very many, only about five. I assumed that the people sitting there were also nobles of some sort. They were all talking quietly amongst themselves. Nobody was laughing; the mood was very somber. I suppose it was because of Theodred's death.

"Legolas?"

"Yes, Michela?"

"When is Theodred's funeral?"

"I believe that it will take place tomorrow."

"Okay." I nodded. I knew that after the funeral, Eothain and the other Freda would ride up on their horse, and then we would have to go to Helm's Deep. And on the way to Helm's Deep, we'd be attacked by a pack of wargs. Awesome.

I was distracted from my musings by the man sitting across from me. He had shoulder-length light brown hair and a cheery face. He seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't know him. Besides, I had to be extra cautious about what I said: this was Theoden's court, and if I did something wrong according to Middle Earth standards, people might get suspicious.

"My lady?"

"Yes?" I replied, smiling.

"I am afraid that I do not know your name."

"I'm Michela."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Garwine."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, also," I said, bowing my head slightly and smiling.

"I had heard that an elf had come to our court, but I must say that I found it hard to believe. I now know my mistake." He bowed his head. "Which realm are you from, if I may ask?"

"I come from Lothlorien." His face darkened at that news. "But I am not the only elf that arrived today. Prince Legolas of the Woodland Realm in Mirkwood also came with us." Legolas turned, hearing his name.

"Yes?"

"This is Lord Garwine of Rohan, Legolas," I introduced the two of them.

"It is an honor to meet you, Prince Legolas," Garwine said, bowing his head.

"And to meet you, Lord Garwine."

"So you are not from the Enchanted Wood, as your companion is?" Legolas shook his head, and Garwine continued. "Ah. We have heard tales of that realm here in Rohan, my lady." I raised my eyebrows, figuring that, like Eomer, he thought Galadriel dangerous and the land wicked. "Is it true that a sorceress lives there, trapping helpless travelers who wander in?"

Gimli turned at that, staring at Garwine scornfully.

"You have heard wrong, my lord," he said. "The Lady Galadriel is no sorceress, but a beautiful maiden whose power is great enough to maintain the beauty of the Golden Wood and to keep all evil out. Those who speak badly of her know not what they do, for I would defend her to my last breath." The dwarf was now glaring threateningly at the man across from me, and I put a hand on his arm.

Garwine, apparently realizing his mistake, sought to make amends. "I beg your pardon, Master Dwarf. I knew not of that of which I spoke. If you would be so kind as to enlighten me…"

And so Gimli began to tell him of the beauty of Galadriel and of Lothlorien. After a while, I grew tired, and people had already started leaving, so I rose to bid everyone goodnight.

"I believe that it is time for me to turn in for the night. I thank you all for the company and the conversation this evening. Goodnight." I curtsied and received a chorus of "goodnights."

Legolas stood with me, holding out his arm. "I shall escort you back to your room, my lady. I also wish to retire at this time." I raised my eyebrows slightly at him, but smiled took his arm. We walked out of the dining hall together. We stopped outside my door, and Legolas took my hand.

"You looked beautiful tonight, Michela," he said quietly.

"Thanks," I said, suddenly unsure of what to do. He let my hand go.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Legolas." I opened my door as he walked away. What was that about? Could he possibly like me? No. I shoved that idea out of my head. There's no way that he would like me. We're just friends. He's got bajillions of more suitable elf maidens lined up for him in Mirkwood.

I reluctantly shoved thoughts of Legolas out of my mind as I took my dress off and put a nightgown on before crawling into bed. Oh my gosh, it felt so freaking good to lay down on a bed and not the ground. I fell asleep almost instantly.

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**Sooo what's going on there, huh? ;D Little reminder that I'll update when I can, but I'm not entirely sure how it's gonna work with school. Please please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter, including the minor fluffage!1!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys! I am pleased to say that I have another chapter written! It's really long, too! Big huge "thank you"s to LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, BallerinaCowgirl01, Liv, Saphira, Hanamaruko, and Brave11 for reviewing! Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own Lord of the Rings. Never have, never will. *sigh*

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"Wake up." Someone was shaking me, trying to get me out of bed. No way in hell that was going to happen. "You have to get up, my lady."

"Go away," I muttered into my pillow, turning to try and escape the relentless shaking. Much to my annoyance, the shaking persisted. I rolled over and opened my eyes a crack.

Freda stood over me, shaking my shoulder. "My lady, it is time to get up. You must get ready for Prince Theodred's funeral." Damn.

I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes. Why did the guy have to go die? Why did the funeral have to be so flipping early?

I wobbled over to the bath that was steaming in the bathroom. Excellent. I lowered myself in and tried not to fall asleep while I shampooed my hair. (It turns out, they actually do have some decent soap and stuff in Middle Earth.) When I was clean, I got out and dried myself off, wrapping myself in the towel when I was done.

I came out of the bathroom to see Freda standing by my bed with a gown laid across the sheets. It was similar to the one I had worn yesterday, but it was black, and the belt that hung down was decorated with what seemed to be small emeralds. It looked really nice. Freda helped me put the dress on, then she combed out my hair and put it in an elaborate braid, which she proceeded to pin up in a bun.

"Wow," I said when she was done. "Thank you!"

She smiled and curtsied. "I am glad that you like it, my lady."

I sat on my bed and put my shoes on before looking in the mirror. I thought I looked pretty good. The dress was slimming, and the shoes gave me a few more inches (they were heels). The neckline was a little bit deeper than the blue dress, too.

"Is that everything?" I asked, turning to Freda.

"Yes, my lady. You look beautiful," she said, smiling.

"Thank you. I'll go now, so you can get ready." We left the room together. She turned right, headed away from the main hall, but I went left. I didn't actually know when people were going to start heading down to the tombs, but I figured that the hall was as good a place as any to find out.

Sure enough, when I walked in, there were a few people standing around, including Eowyn. I walked over to her.

"Hello, Lady Michela," she said, smiling sadly.

"Hello, Lady Eowyn," I said with a wobblier than usual curtsy. (It was the heels.) "Please just call me Michela. I'm not used to being a lady."

"Only if you call me Eowyn," she answered. "If we are to be friends, then let us forget the titles; I often get weary of them."

"Sounds good," I said, smiling. I could tell that Eowyn was trying to be brave, but I could also see that she was devastated by her cousin's death. "Should we go?" She just nodded, and we walked out of the hall together.

Theodred's funeral was held at the bottom of the hill, outside the gates, in the cluster of mounds that covered other kings of Rohan who had already passed. Eowyn and I took our place by the empty mound that would soon be Theodred's. There was already a good amount of people standing around; many of them were sobbing. I looked over at Eowyn and saw that she was struggling to keep her tears from falling. I put an arm around her shoulders to try and comfort her.

"Don't worry, Eowyn. Theodred was strong in life, and his spirit will find his way to the halls of your fathers." I copied what Gandalf had said (or would say) to Theoden, hoping that it would help her feel better. "You must be strong, Eowyn. Your people need you," I told her quietly.

She nodded. "I know… Thank you, Michela." More people had gathered at that point, and I knew that it wouldn't be long before Theodred's body was brought down. I was right; about five minutes later the procession wound its way down the path to Theodred's tomb. His body was followed by Theoden, who looked numb, as if he could grieve no more, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir and Gimli, along with other nobles of Rohan. They came to a stop in front of the mound, and Eowyn began to sing. I wasn't entirely sure what she was saying, but I still had to fight back tears. Her voice shook with emotion throughout the song, and when she was done, she closed her eyes.

She opened them after a few seconds, watching as the women placed Theodred's body in his tomb. Eowyn grabbed my hand, and I looked over and saw a single tear roll down her cheek as the men slid a slab of stone into place to cover the entrance of the tomb. I squeezed her hand reassuringly.

People started to trickle away, going back up the hill and into the city. In a few minutes, it was only Theoden, Eowyn, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and I standing by the tomb. I was still holding Eowyn's hand.

Aragorn caught my eye and jerked his head ever so slightly. I nodded and turned to Eowyn, who was now staring at the ground, more tears sliding down her face. She looked up at me.

"We should go back now," I said quietly, looking at Theoden. She nodded, and we walked back up the hill together, a few steps behind the others. Gandalf and Theoden remained behind.

When we got back to the hall, Eowyn went off to clean herself up before coming back for some of the food that had been brought out: it was a stew, hopefully much better than what Eowyn would later cook herself. I sat down by Legolas again, who smiled at me.

"Hello, Michela."

"Hey, Legolas." I ate my stew in silence after that until someone else came and sat down next to me. I looked and saw that it was Eowyn. She smiled, and it seemed like she was doing better. "You and Legolas have met, right?" I asked her.

She nodded. "We have." She looked between the two of us, and I could have sworn she was about to say something else, but she just looked down at her bowl.

We were done with our food and were just about to get up and do something – I have no idea what – when the doors of the hall opened, and Theoden came in, followed by Gandalf, who was leading two exhausted looking children. Okay. Cool.

They were seated at a table and each handed a bowl of the stew. Gandalf went to go sit by Theoden, and the two proceeded to argue about whether or not to go to war against Saruman. Eowyn got up to see if Freda and Eothain were alright. Once they told her what had happened to their village, she stood to talk to Theoden.

"They had no warning; they were unarmed. Now the wildmen are moving through the Westfold , burning as they go: rick, cot, and tree," she told the men.

"Where's mama?" Freda asked her, looking worried. When Eowyn didn't have an answer, I rose and walked over to their table.

"Your mother is fine, Freda. She is at Helm's Deep. You will see her soon, don't worry," I told her quietly.

"How do you know?" she asked, not entirely satisfied.

"I'm afraid I can't explain it to you, but I promise you, your mother is safe." That seemed to do, and she returned to her stew. I returned my attention to the debate between the men.

"You have two thousand good men riding north as we speak. Eomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king," Aragorn said. I looked around the hall and saw that Boromir was about to speak.

"My lord, if I may-" he started, but I stood, cutting him off. We all knew what he was going to say anyway.

"King Theoden, you should go to Helm's Deep. Seek refuge there; your people will be safe," I said. Yes, I know that Aragorn and pretty much everyone else was trying to persuade him to ride out to war, but that wasn't going to work, not against ten thousand orcs. Who knew what the outcome of that battle would be? Theoden would end up going to Helm's Deep anyway.

Gandalf looked at me. "Did you not hear what I just said? If Theoden goes out and fights, he can stop Saruman and restore order to the land," he snapped at me. No, I actually didn't hear what you said, but that doesn't matter.

"War like that isn't an option, Gandalf. The might of Saruman is too strong. Edoras is vulnerable; they cannot stay here, and they cannot ride out to war without serious casualties," I argued.

"Open war is already upon Rohan. Nothing can be done to stop it," Aragorn said to me before turning to Theoden. "Ride out and meet Saruman head on."

"No, Aragorn, he-" I started to say, but was cut off by Theoden.

"Silence!" he shouted over us. "I am the King of Rohan, and I will decide what we shall do, not any of you."

"Then what is the King's decision?" Gandalf asked.

"I will not bring further death to my people. We will go to Helm's Deep and seek shelter there," Theoden announced. Aragorn stood up and left, and I could tell that Gandalf was disappointed. I looked at Gimli and giggled to myself: he was still eating and slurping beer, getting it all over his beard.

"You seemed to be very opinionated about that," a voice said behind me. I turned in shock and saw that it was Legolas.

I just shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do," I said.

"But why? It would make sense to ride out, as Aragorn was saying."

"No." I lowered my voice so no one else could hear. "Not against ten thousand orcs. Not at Edoras. Trust me." Legolas seemed unsure, but he didn't say anything else.

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The rest of the day passed quickly: as soon as the word had spread that we would be moving to Helm's Deep, everyone started packing for the journey. I didn't have very much to pack at all, so I helped Eowyn out in the hall as she packed supplies. We packed spare clothes for the cold, potatoes and other durable foods in the kitchens, and even a few spare weapons that were loaded onto a cart. We'd certainly need them.

I was busy sorting through some medical supplies – Eowyn had given me a list of things that we would definitely need – when she took out her sword and started to practice a little. Aragorn walked into the hall and was right behind her when she spun around. He only just pulled his dagger out in time to block her sword and avoid getting his head chopped off. I sighed to myself. This scene had always bothered me: I always thought Eowyn acted like a bit of a deer in the headlights when she sees Aragorn.

"Women in my country have learned that those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither pain nor death," I heard her telling Aragorn as she put her sword back into the chest.

"What do you fear, my lady?" he asked her. I turned my attention back to the bandages I was shoving into a sack, feeling like I was intruding on a semi-personal moment. I mean, Eowyn did like him. I made a mental note to ask her about that...but maybe not, seeing as Aragorn was betrothed to Arwen. I sighed. It would be nice to gossip about girl things again. I could hardly ask Gimli who he fancied and then giggle about it whilst eating ice cream and watching a chick flick. You know, if they had all of that in Middle Earth.

I looked up at the sound of approaching feet. It was Aragorn. "Have you finished packing your things?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm taking care of some medical stuff now." I looked around. "Where'd Gandalf go? Did he leave already?"

"He left about an hour ago," he said, nodding. I sighed, disappointed. I'd hoped to say bye.

"Where's everyone else? What's Boromir doing?" He hadn't been in the story at this point, so I had no idea.

"The three of them are in the stables, tending to Dyrstig and Arod. At least, that's what Boromir and Legolas are doing; I don't think Gimli is taking care of the horses," he said. I laughed a little. Even though Gimli had ridden on a horse the past couple of days, he wasn't any more fond of them than he had been at the start of our journey.

"Okay. I've got to finish up here, then I think I'll grab a bite," I told him.

"I have some things that I must tend to myself," he said, staring absently across the hall. "I'll let you get back to work." With that he stood and walked off. I watched him leave; he had seemed a little off, but that might have just been Eowyn. Shrugging, I went back to my work.

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**That scene really does bother me every time I see it: she just stares at him. At least smile! But anyway... Please review and tell me what you thought! I love hearing from y'all!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey guys! I finished my first week of school! Woohoo! And now I've got another chapter for y'all! Thank you to Saphira and LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr for reviewing! And thank you to everyone who has favorited and/or followed! Read on!**

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At the end of the day, everything was ready; we were going to leave in the morning. Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, and I had eaten dinner together once the sun had gone down. I didn't know where Aragorn was. After dinner, I had gone to get ready for bed, and was just about to put out the light when someone knocked on my door.

"Michela?" It was Eowyn. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Not at all!" I said, opening the door a little wider. "What's up?" She looked at me for a second. "Sorry. How are you?" A look of understanding crossed her face.

"I am well. I wished to talk with you, if you didn't mind," she said. I could tell that she really wanted to talk to me, and I kind of needed to talk to another girl, really talk, so I smiled and flopped down on my bed.

"Sure!" I gestured to indicate that she could sit on my bed, too, and she did.

"Thank you. I haven't had anyone to talk to since my brother left a few weeks ago to look for my cousin. But even when he was around, I didn't have a girl to talk to."

"I totally get that. The Fellowship are great and all, but they're all guys," I said. "Anything you really need to talk about?"

"Actually, yes…The past year has been – awful, to be honest. Almost immediately after Grima showed up, Uncle started to lag in his duties. He became weak and frail, hardly leaving his throne. Eomer was usually gone because of the orcs that Saruman was apparently sending to attack our villages. I was alone. Sometimes I could talk to Theodred, almost like I could talk to Eomer, and that was something, at least. But now Theodred is dead, and Eomer has gone…" Eowyn trailed off, and her voice wobbling as she tried not to cry.

"It'll be alright, Eowyn. I know that life can kind of really suck sometimes," I said, wrapping her in a hug, "but it'll get better soon, I promise. If you ever need someone to talk to, though, you can come to me. You'll even get to see Eomer in a few days," I added.

"How do you know?"

"The same way that I know Freda will meet her mother at Helm's Deep." She looked at me, silently prompting me to continue, but I couldn't elaborate on that. "It's nothing, really, just…" Eowyn got that I didn't want to talk about it and didn't push me any further. On that topic.

"So," she said, smiling slyly. "Is there anything going on between you and that elvish prince?"

"Legolas?" I asked, astonished. "No. He's a prince and I'm kind of nobody."

"But do you like him?"

"Well, yeah, a little, I guess…maybe more than a little…" I stared at the pillow I was holding, feeling a blush creep over my face.

Eowyn smiled at me again, leaning in to talk quieter. "I think he fancies you."

"What?" My voice was about two octaves higher than usual. "Why would you say that?"

"Shh," she hushed me, laughing. "I've seen the way he looks at you. And there's a special gleam in his eyes when you two talk. Yours too." She laughed more at the look on my face.

"But what about all the girls at home who are lined up to court him?" I asked fervently.

"Well, he's not at home, is he?" We both laughed at that remark. The idea that Legolas, prim and proper Legolas, would be part of a scandal was just crazy. I imagined him sneaking off behind Thranduil's back, running away from all the suitable court matches to meet someone in secret. Could it be me?

We both stopped laughing when someone suddenly knocked on the door. I crept over to open it and had to work hard to keep my mouth from dropping when I saw that it was Legolas. I opened the door more so that Eowyn could see who it was. We made eye contact and then both burst out laughing, me somewhat hysterically. I looked up at Legolas, saw the look on his face – one of complete and utter confusion – and started laughing even harder, along with Eowyn.

We calmed down eventually, and then he looked down at me, worried that something else would happen.

"Did you want something Legolas? Do you want to come in?" I asked, still giggling slightly.

"No…" he said slightly hesitantly. I think we scared him a little. "I just wanted to tell you that Aragorn wishes to speak with all of us in the morning before we leave. He wants us up at dawn in order to get everything completely ready."

"Dawn? Are you kidding? That's in freaking eight hours!"

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes, it is."

I groaned. "Okay. I'll be up."

"Good." He was definitely smiling this time. "Well, goodnight, Michela. Goodnight, Lady Eowyn," he added before leaving.

"Goodnight, Legolas," we chorused back.

I closed the door and turned around. Eowyn was looking at me. "See?" she said, as if she had proven a point to me. "There's that glimmer I was talking about."

"Nuh-uh," I muttered as I sat myself down on the bed.

"I should probably leave," Eowyn said, standing. "I greatly enjoyed our conversation," she said, beaming at me.

"I did, too. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Goodnight, Eowyn." We walked over to the door.

"Goodnight, Michela," she said before leaving.

I put the light out and walked over to my bed. I snuggled into my blankets, glad that I had a bed to sleep in instead of the hard ground. It was with that thought that I fell asleep.

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I was in the woods again. Dammit. A light wind tugged at the skirt around my ankles and rustled through the leaves on the trees. Birds sang. It was peaceful. But I knew better than that.

"Michela!" I spun around, looking for the speaker.

"Michela!" It wasn't the same voice, though. It was friendlier, and I thought it sounded familiar. And why wasn't it saying Nidiriel?

I walked in the direction of the voice as it continued to call out, and after a short while I found a clearing. Sitting in the clearing on a blanket, surrounded by what was clearly a picnic, was Legolas. His face split into a smile when he saw me.

"Michela, where were you?" I didn't answer, I just looked at him. Why was he here? Was this another nightmare? The dress was the same, and we were in Lothlorien.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, looking at him as if he might transform into the Eye at any moment.

"We agreed to meet here. I had something I wanted to ask you," he said, still smiling. I cautiously went over and sat on the blanket. Legolas took my hands in his and leaned forward, excited. "I'm going back to Mirkwood. I must, it is my duty to be with my father, but I would be incredibly happy if you would come with me."

What? What was this? What was happening?

"Michela." There it was. That time, the voice was Sauron's. I stood, wrenching my hands from Legolas'. He looked up at me, seeming hurt. I ignored him, staring into the trees, trying to see what was going on. As I watched, the world turned black. I couldn't see Legolas, or the trees, or the blanket that we'd been sitting on. Nothing.

"Legolas?" I called out, hoping that I wasn't alone. I heard a cold laugh, and I spun around, trying to see something, anything.

A red light started to creep over the tops of the trees, illuminating their dead branches. I turned to run, and found that this time I could. I sprinted out of the clearing, running as fast as I could from what I knew was the Eye. Unseen branches slashed at my face and arms, but I kept going.

It was gaining on me, though. No matter how fast I ran, the red glow grew brighter, until I could see the branches and the trees that loomed up in front of me. Despite the light, I tripped on something on the ground. I stood up and looked down at what appeared to be a body. I leaned in to see who it was, and I screamed, backing away from Legolas' body. His blonde hair, turned red by the glow of the Eye, was fanned out around his head. His eyes were open, staring in fear, and blossoming across his chest was a dark patch that I knew was blood.

I backed further away, horrified, tears running down my face, and, turning, came face to face with the Eye.

I woke up in my bed in Meduseld, a scream stuck in my throat. Tears were running down my face, mixing with the cold sweat that covered my body. I threw back the covers, shaking, and crept over to my wardrobe. I grabbed a pair of leggings and a tunic and put them on. Then, grabbing my boots, I walked out of my room.

There was no way in hell I was going back to bed. I didn't want to risk another nightmare. I walked into the main hall and sat at a table to put my boots on. When I had gotten them on, I walked out of the hall. The sky was still dark, and I had no idea what time it was. I sat on the steps, ignoring the guards on either side of the door, just as they ignored me.

What was I going to do about those damned nightmares? Talking to Gandalf wouldn't be a bad idea, but I wouldn't see him for another few days, and we had already discussed the dreams. I sighed and put my head in my hands, looking out over the city. My thoughts turned to Frodo. Where was he? If we were in Edoras, and the Battle of Helm's Deep was about to take place, then Frodo would be in Ithilien, on his was to Minas Morgul. I hoped he was doing alright with the Ring and Sméagol. I sighed again, then got up and went back inside the hall.

It was empty and mostly dark; a fire smoldered in the center of the hall in the fire pit. I sat down at one of the tables and put my head on my arms, staring at the glowing embers, still thinking, this time about the dream. I couldn't help but shudder, even though I was far away from both Lothlorien and the Eye. Seeing Legolas dead like that had been awful.

I shrugged those thoughts away, and for a while my mind was blank. I just stared into the darkness, almost waiting for something to happen. Nothing moved in the shadows of the hall, though, and eventually, I fell asleep.

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**Okay, so I know that we've been a while in Edoras (or at least it feels that way to me). I promise things'll pick up soon! Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! The more you review, the more I like to write!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello again! Thank you to Saphira and Ranger20 for reviewing! I just realized that this story has gotten over 75 reviews! Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed and to all of my readers!1! Y'all are the best!1! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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"Michela?" Someone touched my shoulder, probably just to wake me up. I jumped up, ramming my head into Boromir's.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, looking around, frantically searching the hall, but it was empty, with the exception of Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, Boromir, and myself.

"Sorry," I said to Boromir, rubbing my head.

"It's fine," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Are you alright? What were you doing out here?"

"I'm fine, it's nothing," I said hurriedly, my words slurring slightly. Based on the looks on their faces, I'm not sure the others entirely believed me. "What are y'all doing in here so early?" I was assuming that it was early; no one else was in the hall, and I could hardly hear any activity throughout the rest of Meduseld.

"I asked you to meet here last night," Aragorn explained, looking at me. Right. Okay, that made sense. I nodded and sat back down.

"What did you wish to tell us, Aragorn?" Legolas asked, leaning against one of the columns.

"I wished to speak to Michela about what is about to happen, and I wanted all of you to be present. We will not be disturbed at this hour." Shit. Was he going to ask me about the battle? Because I couldn't give anything away. "Can you tell us what will happen, warn us about anything that could possibly go wrong?" he asked me. Shit. Shit shit shit shit. I just stared back at him, speechless.

"A-Aragorn, I can't tell you. You might stray from the plot and then screw everything up," I said after a minute.

"Michela, I need – we need your help in this matter. We cannot run blindly into whatever dangers await us."

"Actually, you can run blindly into whatever dangers await you; you do just fine in the books," I snapped at him, annoyed that he was asking for help that I couldn't give. Aragorn wasn't happy either.

"I remember you saying that you would help this Fellowship to the best of your abilities, yet Merry and Pippin were dragged away by orcs, and Frodo and Sam are who knows where, trying to get to Mordor, if they aren't dead yet. And what are you doing now? You are not helping us, you are withholding valuable information that could be of great use to us! Saruman is a dangerous foe, and surely he will not let us move to Helm's Deep – or stay there – in peace. Now, please, tell us what will happen!" He seemed crankier than usual; I guessed that he, too, was running on less sleep than usual, but it was totally not okay to say what he had just said.

I leaped to my feet again, glaring at him. "I _have_ helped the Fellowship! Did you not hear what Gandalf said in Fangorn? Merry and Pippin have woken up the Ents, which, right now, is a very good thing for you! Frodo and Sam are fine, trust me! They had to go off on their own!" Aragorn opened his mouth as if to argue, but I kept on going. "And before you say that I haven't helped, that all of that was meant to happen anyway (which, yes, it was), why don't you look at Boromir! He was supposed to die on Amon Hen, but he's alive! He's alive because I saved him! So don't you dare say I haven't helped this Fellowship, Aragorn, don't you dare!" My voice broke at the end, and tears threatened to spill out of my eyes, but they were tears of anger.

Aragorn looked slightly taken aback by that, and the blood had drained from Boromir's face. "I…was meant…to die?" he asked me. Dammit. I probably shouldn't have said that, but whatever. I just nodded, and we all stood there in silence.

"What is going on in here?" I spun around to see that Gamling and Hama had walked into the hall to see what all of the shouting was about.

"It is nothing," Aragorn said, stepping forward. "I am sorry if we disturbed you. There was just a slight misunderstanding." The guards nodded and then retreated, somewhat hesitantly. Aragorn turned to me. "I… I am sorry, Michela. If you cannot tell us what will happen, I understand," he said in a somewhat dead sounding voice. And with that, he turned and walked out of the hall before any of us could say anything.

Gimli and Legolas stared after him, but Boromir was still staring at me. I muttered something about going to check that my things were packed before walking out of the hall and back to my room.

* * *

When we all gathered in the hall to leave, I avoided Aragorn's gaze and tried to stay away from him without anyone really noticing. Unfortunately, that didn't work.

Eowyn and I walked out of the hall together to go down to the stables. "Is something wrong with you and Lord Aragorn?" she asked.

"Oh…Yeah, I guess, a little," I said.

"Does it have to do with that fight you two had this morning?" Her voice was neutral, but I could hear that she wanted to know what had happened.

I looked at her in alarm. "You heard that?"

"I think most people in Meduseld heard it."

"How much did you hear?" It would be disastrous if people heard that Boromir was supposed to be dead, or that I knew the future, or that I was from another world.

"I did not hear much, just your voices." I breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I heard something about you not helping the Fellowship, but that's all I could clearly distinguish." I nodded. That was okay. "Are you well, Michela?" Eowyn was looking at me in concern.

"I didn't get that much sleep last night, but it's fine," I said, trying to smile. We had reached the stables by that point. I walked over to Arod and saw that Legolas was already getting him ready.

"Hello, Michela," he said cautiously. I guess he thought I was still angry.

"Hey, Legolas," I said in a hopefully calm voice. "You ready to go?" He nodded and got on Arod before holding his hand out to me. "Thanks," I said once I was up. He nodded again and then steered Arod out of the stables. The others were already waiting, Aragorn on Hasufel and Boromir and Gimli on Dyrstig.

We rode out of Edoras with the rest of the people, some on horses, others walking. They all looked devastated, which was understandable: they were leaving their homes, and they didn't know if they'd ever get to come back. After a while we rode to the front and got into line next to Theoden. My butt needed a break, so I got off and walked next to Eowyn, who was walking next to Dyrstig and talking with Gimli.

"It's true you don't see many dwarf women, and in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they're often mistaken for dwarf men," he was telling her. Eowyn looked back at Aragorn, but I kept my gaze on the road ahead, still not over our argument from earlier. Eowyn laughed and turned back around, but Gimli didn't notice. He just kept on going.

"This in turn has given rise to the belief that there are no dwarf women, and that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground, which is of course ridiculous." Eowyn busted out laughing at that, and Boromir lost control of Dyrstig for a moment. The horse darted forward, and Gimli fell off, rolling on the ground. Eowyn ran forward, still laughing, to help him up. "It's alright, nobody panic. It was deliberate, it was deliberate," the dwarf reassured her and she helped him to his feet.

It wasn't long after that that Theoden ordered us to stop and make camp for the night. Eowyn and I set up a tent to share, and then she went off, probably to cook some stew. I shuddered, hoping that she wouldn't choose me as one of the victims. I walked around the camp, bored. I was looking for Legolas, Boromir, or Gimli, but I couldn't find them. I paused when I heard Gimli's voice.

"Oh, no, I couldn't. I really couldn't." That was him refusing the stew that Eowyn had cooked. Crap. I swiftly walked in the opposite direction, and was so focused on escaping that I almost ran into Legolas.

"Oh! Sorry," I said, looking up at him.

"It's fine," he said, smiling. "Were you going somewhere?"

"No, just trying to get away from Eowyn," I said, lowering my voice.

"Why? Did something happen between you two?"

"No, but she's offering people stew that she made. Unfortunately, she really can't cook. Too bad for Aragorn…" I couldn't help but laugh a little as I said that.

"Why is that?" Legolas was confused.

"Aragorn gets to sample some of the stew," I said, still pleased. "What are you up to?"

"Not much. Gimli and Boromir went to find Aragorn. If you ask me, Boromir is still processing what you said this morning…about him dying on Amon Hen." Legolas sounded really serious. "You weren't kidding? He was meant to die?"

"That's how it worked out in the books," I said quietly. "Can we not talk about this? It's too risky right now, with everyone around." He nodded.

"How about finding something to eat?" he offered.

"Sounds great; I'm starving!"

I really was. I'd been walking all afternoon, and I hadn't had much to eat for lunch, seeing as we'd been on the move. We found a loaf of bread and some water and went to sit on some grass on the edge of the camp where there were fewer people around. We ate mostly in silence, which was nice. I still wasn't entirely over what had happened with Aragorn. Apparently, neither was Legolas.

"So…" he started hesitantly. "Why couldn't you tell us anything this morning?" I paused in chewing my mouthful of bread and stared at him. "You don't have to tell me anything about the future!" Legolas said hurriedly, worried that I might start shouting again. I swallowed my bread.

"I'm worried that if I say something about what might happen, people will try to change it. I know what will happen tomorrow, and if I go around telling people, there's a possibility that they might not do the same thing as they do in the books. Who knows how much that would change things?"

Legolas took a second to mull that over before he hesitantly asked another question. "Michela, does something bad happen tomorrow?" I sighed as I thought about what to say. "It's alright, you don't have to answer that. I shouldn't have asked," he said quietly.

"Thanks," I said, now staring at the ground. I sighed again.

"Why do you sigh so much?" I looked over at Legolas and saw that a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth. I couldn't help but smile back.

"I don't know. I guess it's semi-calming. When I had a lot of stuff to do back home, or whenever I was really stressed out, I would just start sighing. Like over and over again. It pissed the cat off to no end," I explained, laughing quietly to myself. Legolas started laughing too.

"You would just keep sighing?"

"Yeah. You should try it next time you're upset," I said, nudging him with my elbow.

Once I stopped laughing, I laid down on the ground and stared up at the stars, trying to remember the constellations Legolas had pointed out to me. He laid down, too, and we both looked at the tiny pinpricks of light in the sky, not speaking, for a while. Until someone came tramping through the grass and ruined the sort-of-moment we were having.

"Where have you two been? Boromir and I have been looking for you all over camp!" Gimli asked us, leaning over so we could see him. I glared at him.

"We were having dinner away from the noise of camp," Legolas said calmly.

"Oh. Well I'm glad you're alright. Nobody had seen you for hours." It was kind of hard to be mad at Gimli once he said that; I mean, he was only looking out for us. I stood up, brushing grass off my legs.

"We're fine Gimli, thanks." I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"We should probably go back, though." Legolas stood up and brushed himself off. We walked back to the main camp, where Gimli went off to look for Boromir. Legolas walked me to my tent, though.

"Goodnight, Michela," he said quietly. I stared up at him, thinking about what Eowyn had said last night. Could he like me?

"Goodnight, Legolas," I said, just as quietly. He took my hand and raised it, brushing his lips against the back of my hand. My breath caught in my throat, but he didn't do anything else, just lowered my hand and smiled faintly before walking away.

I slipped into the tent quietly, not wanting to wake Eowyn if she was already asleep, but I had no need to worry about that. Despite my lateness, she had stayed up for me, and she lit a lantern as soon as I pushed my way inside. One look at her face told me that she had seen everything: she was beaming.

"I told you!" she whispered.

"He didn't say anything," I said, beaming back at her despite myself.

"He didn't have to, did he?" I tossed a pillow at her, but she caught it, laughing softly.

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**Yay more Legolas fluff! And drama. TONS of drama... Please review and let me know what you thought!**

**Also, I have uploaded another story, and I'd love it if you'd check it out!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Aagh it feels like I haven't updated in FOREVER. I'm sorry, guys! My APUSH teacher thought it'd be a great idea to give us a buttload of homework. Thank you so very much to Maethoriel Artemis, Hobbitfromtheshire, LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, Saphira, NaruVamp, Brave11, and otakuchamasherlockluvr for reviewing!1 Oh, and, Ranger20, I meant to answer your question the last time I updated, but it completely slipped my mind. I'm not going to make Boromir like her just because I've always seen him as the big-brother-best-bud kinda guy, plus that would mess up what's going on between Michela and Legolas. But thank you so much for your suggestion! Hobbitfromtheshire, to answer your question, I'm not gonna make Eowyn and Michela talk about Aragorn because of Arwen, and she doesn't want to interfere with ****_their_**** love stuff.**

**Oh, and thank you to everyone who checked out my other story! I'll try to get another chapter up this weekend!**

**Okay, after a really long note, please proceed! :D**

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings.

* * *

People were running around, packing things up, getting ready to leave again. I made my way cautiously through the chaos, not eager to get trampled by a horse. I was looking for Aragorn; I wanted to apologize about the fight we'd had yesterday. I found him speaking with a few Riders, who walked away after a minute.

"Aragorn?" He turned to look at me, his face expressionless. "I'm sorry. About yesterday morning. I shouldn't have yelled at you and freaked out."

"I am sorry, too. I should not have asked you to tell me what would happen, nor should I have said that you are not helpful. I am glad that you came with us, and you have been as dedicated as the rest of us on our quest."

"So we're good?" I said, smiling hopefully.

"We're good," he answered, smiling back.

Just then, Legolas showed up, leading Arod. "We are about to leave. Where are Gimli and Boromir?"

"Right here, lad, don't worry," Gimli called from behind Boromir on Dyrstig.

Legolas nodded and got on Arod, holding his hand out to me. When we touched, it seemed like electric shocks were going up and down my arm. Awesome. I got up behind him, twisting to look at Gimli and Boromir, who appeared to both have been struck by coughing fits. I saw Aragorn watching them, his gaze flickering back to me and Legolas for a moment. Honestly, it wasn't as if we were making out. We weren't even officially dating. He just kissed my hand. Once. I sighed.

"Are you already stressed out?" Legolas asked, apparently having heard me.

"No, I just wish we could leave. I don't like waiting for things to happen." Which was true. I knew that the wargs would attack, and I didn't want to have to wait for it.

We did finally set out, about ten minutes later. Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, Boromir, and I were riding in the front again with Theoden, a few riders, and Eowyn, who kept shooting me looks from her horse.

Nothing happened until after lunch, but at about one in the afternoon, Hama and Gamling went ahead to scout. I saw them ride ahead of the column, and my insides immediately clenched, making me regret the bread, cheese, and sliver of dried meat I had nibbled on. (It was just to see if, as an elf, I could still stomach meat. I was bored.)

Suddenly, screams came from the hill that blocked our view of the path. It was Hama. Legolas stopped Arod and hopped off, handing me the reins. I scooted forward into his spot as he ran up to the top of the hill to see what was going on, and then I saw him disappear over the top of the hill, knife in hand, to kill the orc.

Aragorn came running toward us.

"What is it?" Theoden called out to him. "What do you see?"

"Wargs! We're under attack!" Aragorn shouted back. He grabbed Hasufel's reins from Boromir as Theoden shouted directions to the column behind him.

"Get them out of here!" he shouted, referring to the women and children who were starting to panic. "All riders to the head of the column!" Eowyn ran forward. "You must lead the people to Helm's Deep, and make haste," he told her urgently.

"I can fight!" she insisted, staring up at Theoden.

"No! You must do this, for me," Theoden implored her. Eowyn looked desperately at me, but I didn't say anything.

"Follow me!" Theoden shouted to his men. I supposed that included me; I sure as hell wasn't going to be left behind. I nudged Arod's sides, and he galloped forward with the other horses. Aragorn climbed on Hasufel, who was already running. He settled in beside me.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked, looking as concerned as one can when one is riding into battle.

"Hell yes," I said, and I was somewhat surprised to realize that I actually was. The hooves of the horses around me sounded like thunder as they pounded against the ground, and I could hear the growls and barks of the wargs on the other side of the hill. Legolas was standing still, shooting at the wargs as they ran down a different hill toward us. He turned and saw that we were almost to him, and then he started to run towards me. He swung up onto the horse and landed in front of me.

Theoden unsheathed his sword and held it up, and everybody else did, too, including me. I imagine we all looked pretty impressive, holding our swords over our heads, galloping towards orcs and wargs, ready to kick some ass.

We collided with the wargs. Many riders were thrown from their horses, getting trampled or speared by an orc once they were on the ground. Fortunately, Arod was not among those horses, and Legolas and I were not among those riders. I stabbed, hacked, and sliced every warg and orc that came across our path, and Legolas managed to shoot a few while he was controlling Arod.

About five minutes in, I saw Boromir and Gimli fighting, both of them still on Dyrstig, but not for long. Dyrstig reared when a warg jumped in front of him, and Gimli, who was too busy swinging his axe to hold onto anything, fell off. I looked around and saw the warg heading toward him, so I jumped off of Arod and landed semi-gracefully on the warg's back, where I grabbed my sword and stabbed the monster through the neck.

Unfortunately, when wargs die, they don't run, and if they are running when they die, they plow into the ground, usually throwing their killer (if they are still riding the warg) onto the ground. I scrambled to my feet and ran forward, pulling my sword out of the warg. An orc without a warg saw me and decided to have a go. He ran forward, swinging his sword above his head. I ran toward him, ducked under his sword, and cut his head off.

I killed another warg and another two orcs before it happened. Aragorn was thrown off his horse and picked up by a warg. At that moment, I completely forgot about the books and the movies and keeping to the plot. All that I knew was that my friend was being dragged away by a warg. I sprinted after said warg and managed to leap on top of it, stabbing the orc in the back with my sword. He didn't die, though. He jammed his dagger into Aragorn's sleeve, pinning him to the warg. I tried to unseat the orc and push him off the warg, but all I succeeded in doing was losing my sword. I watched, dismayed, as it clattered to the ground, my chances of retrieving it less than zero while I was on the back of the warg.

I looked ahead and gasped. The warg was running towards the cliff. Aragorn still hadn't gotten free, and that damn orc still wasn't dead. He twisted in his saddle and stabbed at me with a dagger. I tried to grab it from him, but he shoved at me, and, being larger than me, was also stronger than me. He shoved me off of the warg right as it ran over the cliff.

I grabbed desperately at the ground that I was sliding across, trying to stop myself, but I slid over the cliff. I barely managed to grab on to the edge, but I did it, right when that stupid orc grabbed my leg. I held on to the cliff for dear life, trying not to slip off while trying to get the orc off of my leg. When I kicked, however, or tried to get him to lose his grip, he just grabbed tighter, clawing at my calf.

I looked down at the rushing river hundreds of feet below and at the orc whose face leered up at me. I looked back up at the cliff. Surely the fighting was over. Legolas and Gimli would come, looking for Aragorn. They would pull me up. Right?

I gasped as the orc started to claw his way up my leg and turned my attention back to him. He was trying to climb up me. I kicked him in the face, and he slid back down my leg, his claws digging into my skin, tearing through my leggings. I forced my mind away from the pain and tried to shake the clingy bastard off. My fingers at that point were really hurting, but I couldn't let go. I tried to get a bit more of a grip with one hand, but it didn't work.

Suddenly, a face appeared over the edge of the cliff. It was Legolas. He immediately dropped to his knees and grabbed my wrist.

"Legolas, the orc," I gasped. I didn't know what his plan was, but I wanted to warn him. He let go of my wrist, and for a split second, I panicked, wondering if he was going to leave me. I had no need to panic, though; he quickly nocked an arrow and shot the orc, which finally released my leg. Legolas grabbed my wrist once more and pulled me up and away from the cliff, holding me against him. My legs were shaking, and I don't think I would have been able to stay up if it hadn't been for Legolas.

"Are you okay?" he asked, still holding me. I just nodded. Fortunately, my legs decided that they were not going to collapse, so I was able to remain standing when he let me go. He stepped back to look at me and make sure that I really was fine. His eyes widened when he saw my leg, and he immediately dropped down to get a better look at it.

"What happened?"

"It's just a few scratches, it's fine," I said. "Legolas…" I had to tell him about Aragorn. He looked up, hearing the change in my voice.

"What?" He was immediately back on his feet, looking at me with concern. "Is something wrong?"

"Aragorn…He fell." Legolas started to look around, trying to find him, his eyes sweeping over the battlefield. "The warg…it went off the cliff. I tried to save him but the orc pushed me off, and I couldn't do anything." Tears started to fill my eyes. There's a huge difference between watching a character fall off of a cliff in a movie and watching your friend fall off a cliff in real life, even if he can come back.

"Is he… Will he be…" Legolas couldn't bring himself to ask the question.

"He should be fine…but what if I changed things? What if I screwed it all up? I forgot, and I just saw him – and then I tried to save him –" The tears started to fall, and I broke down. Legolas wrapped me up in another hug, holding me to him.

"He'll be fine. I'm sure you didn't change things. Aragorn will be fine," he repeated.

I regained my composure after a minute, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. Legolas let go of me. He opened his mouth to say something, but Boromir and Gimli ran up to us.

"Where's Aragorn?" Boromir asked at the same time that Gimli said, "Lass, what happened?"

"He fell off the cliff," I said, answering both questions. Gimli just stared at me, but Boromir immediately ran over and looked down, looking for a body. Gimli, Legolas, and I followed more slowly.

"How do you know?" Boromir asked me, almost accusing me, as he whirled around to face us.

"She tried to save him," Legolas said, glaring at Boromir.

"So, was he – were you – like me?" he asked. He obviously still wasn't over learning that he was supposed to be dead, but, really, who can blame him?

"No. He should survive," I said.

"Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return. Leave the dead." Theoden's voice rang out, and I turned to see him coming toward us. "Come."

We turned and followed him. I picked up my sword on the way back to Arod.

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**AAAH the suspense...kind of... Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Hey guys! I just want to say thank you to otakuchamasherlockluvr, lotrgotdwhp, Hobbitfromtheshire, LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, and The souless ones for reviewing! I'm so happy that y'all like the Legolas/Michela fluff; I love writing it! To answer your question, LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, I will definitely be doing all three of the books/movies! I'm really looking forward to the Battle of the Pelennor; it's my favorite out of the whole trilogy!**

**Okay, and speaking of the Battle of the Pelennor, do you think that Michela should go with Aragorn to the Paths of the Dead or stick with the Rohirrim? I've been trying to think ahead, but I can't decide on that. Please review or message me and let me know which way you think she should go! I'd love y'all's input!1!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, including the characters, places, languages, or anything else created by Tolkien.

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The remainder of the journey to Helm's Deep was uneventful. Legolas rode Hasufel, since Aragorn wasn't available, and I rode Arod by myself. Legolas was on my right, and Boromir and Gimli were on my left. None of us spoke.

The women and children had made it safely to the fortress, and we weren't far behind them. After about two hours of riding, we saw it. There was a huge wall of mountains stretched out, facing us. In a small (from that distance) cleft sat Helm's Deep: a huge gray wall that stretched across the gap in the mountains, tucked back so that it wasn't level with the mountain walls.

Half an hour later, we were riding up the causeway, horns blowing to announce our arrival. People crowded the entrance, hoping to see loved ones returning from the skirmish, eager to get a glimpse of the king, desperate to know what was going on. Eowyn pushed through the crowd as I dismounted.

"Michela!" She ran over to me, checking to make sure I was okay. Her eyes widened when she saw my leg, but I waved my hand to indicate that it was nothing serious. Boromir and Gimli walked up to us then.

"My lady," Boromir said, bowing. Gimli copied him.

Eowyn curtsied to them before turning back to me. "Where is Aragorn? I cannot see him here."

I sighed, not wanting to have to tell her, but unable to back out. "Aragorn fell off of the cliff, Eowyn." She stood there, unsure of what to do, before turning and walking over to Theoden. I didn't listen to their conversation, but a minute later, Eowyn walked away without speaking to us.

"You should get your leg looked at," Boromir said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, you should." Legolas had arrived.

"Okay." I nodded. "Do any of y'all know where to go?"

"No, but I suspect anyone here will know," Legolas said, turning to ask for directions. Once he knew where to go, he practically dragged me away. I waved to Boromir and Gimli before turning around to walk with Legolas.

"I can walk on my own," I muttered, pulling my arm from his grip. He looked down at me, seeming slightly hurt by my refusal to accept his aid. "Sorry." Legolas nodded, and we walked the rest of the way to the infirmary in silence.

When we got there, the room was already occupied by some of the Riders who had fought the wargs, and, as a result, it already smelled pretty bad. There was some serious BO going on, plus the oddly metallic smell of lots of blood. It wasn't pleasant. All of the women there were busy tending to the men, so Legolas hunted down some bandages and clean water before leading me back outside.

"Sit down," he told me, gesturing to the floor. I slid down the wall and extended my leg so he could see it. He gently slid off my boot, which covered most of my calf. Fortunately the material was pretty thick, so the orc's talons hadn't penetrated it. The cuts on my leg were mostly on my thigh.

"Do you mind if I cut away your leggings so I can wash the wounds?" I nodded, but then held up my hand as he brought out a small hunting knife.

"You probably shouldn't do it right here. The men might freak out if you start cutting my clothes off," I said, grinning. I'm sure that in Rohan exposing most of my leg in public would not go over well.

"Ah, yes. Good point." Legolas helped me up, and we found an empty room. I sat down on a bench this time, and Legolas proceeded to cut off the blood-soaked part of my leggings. He started to wash my leg with the water and some clean cloth he'd found. It stung a little, but not too much. When he was finished, I could see that the cuts weren't too deep, but they weren't shallow, either.

I shuddered, thinking of the condition of the orc's nails: I'm fairly sure they weren't nearly as clean as I wanted them to be.

"What's wrong?" Legolas asked, assuming that it was the pain that was causing me to shudder.

"Nothing, I just don't think that orc had very good hygiene," I explained. "I'm sure his nails were filthy. I don't think Saruman offers mani-pedis to his army." An image suddenly popped into my head of an orc sitting in Jessica's Nail Salon back home, getting a foot massage while his nails were painted hot pink. I busted out laughing.

"Michela…?" I looked down at Legolas. Needless to say, he was confused, first by "mani-pedi," then by my sudden inexplicable laughter. Seeing his face, I laughed harder. He just sighed and started to wrap up my leg, used to my behavior by now.

"Sorry, Legolas, that was just…wow," I said when I was done.

"There is no need to apologize." He looked up at me, smiling. "By now I have gotten accustomed to your outbursts."

"Outbursts? That's got a bit of a negative connotation, don't you think?" He just smiled. I whacked him lightly on the shoulder.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, stopping in front of the door. Legolas and I both looked up. A guard stood in the doorway, staring at me, shocked. Legolas immediately leaped up in front of me, hiding me and my scandalous leg from the guard's view.

"My lord," the guard said, regaining his composure. "I bring word from King Theoden. He wishes to speak to you."

"Very well," Legolas said coolly.

"What about me?" I asked, peeping around Legolas' legs to look at the guard.

"I was only told to inform Prince Legolas." I glared at him, and he bowed and hurriedly left the room.

"Stupid sexism shit," I muttered under my breath. Legolas obviously heard me, but he remained silent as he finished wrapping up my leg.

"There," he said when he finished. "You'll need another pair of leggings. I can find you another pair before I go to the meeting, if you want."

"That won't be necessary. I packed some spare clothes, just in case. Can you guard the door while I change real quick?" He nodded and walked over, shutting the door and facing it. I tugged off my other boot and slid off the remainder of my leggings. After digging the other pair out of my bag, I slipped them on, trying not to tug too much at the bandages on my leg.

"Alright, you're good," I said as I pulled my boots back on.

"What are you going to do while I'm at the meeting?" Legolas asked, turning around.

"I'll be there with you," I said innocently.

"Theoden did not summon you; I do not think he will be too happy about your presence."

I rolled my eyes as I shouldered my pack again. "You seriously think I'm going to miss a super important war council just because I'm a girl? Hell no. Theoden can just suck it up." Legolas opened his mouth, but I spoke before he could. "You should know that there is absolutely no point in arguing." He snapped his mouth shut and nodded, trying to hold back a grin.

"After you, my lady," he said, bowing me out the door and offering me his arm.

When we walked into the council chamber, I saw that I actually wasn't the only girl in the room. I'm kidding. I was. And all of the men – with the exception of Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas – were staring/glaring at me. I stared/glared right back.

"Lady Michela," Theoden said coldly. "I do not believe I called for you."

"Yes, King Theoden," I said, bowing. "However, I believe that I can be of some use to you right now." Some of the men snickered and muttered to each other when I said that, but I ignored them.

"If I had thought your services were needed in planning for war, I would have summoned you."

"Your Highness, you have no idea what you're up against. I do. I can help you. There are factors that you have not accounted for in your planning because you do not know of their existence." Now Theoden was outright glaring at me.

"I do not believe that you can tell me anything that I do not know right now, my lady." I could tell he forced himself to spit out the title, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. His stupid male pride was keeping me from sitting in on a meeting that could possibly decide (however indirectly) whether or not I live or die. Not cool. "I must ask you to leave now."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Legolas shook his head ever so slightly, looking down at me from his position beside me. I glanced over at Gimli and Boromir; both were studying the ground. Without bowing or curtsying, I spun on my heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind me. I heard the men talking as I stormed down the hall, and it took every bit of my willpower to not go back in there and deliver some serious ass-whoopings. Instead, I just kept walking down the hall, hardly noticing where I was going.

I was still upset when I got close to the gate, shoving my way through a crowd that had gathered there. I had no idea why they were there, and I didn't find out until I ran into someone.

"Michela?" I staggered back, looking up to see Aragorn standing in front of me, beaten up and bloody, but alive.

"Aragorn!" I immediately hugged him, my anger almost forgotten in my relief to see him alive, to know that I hadn't screwed anything up. "You're okay! Well…mostly." I stepped back from him to get a look at his shoulder.

"I am glad to see that you are well, but I must speak with the king. Where is he?"

"In a meeting," I said glumly, folding my arms. Aragorn raised an eyebrow at my bitter tone. "He kicked me out because I'm a girl."

"Ah. I am sorry, but I must speak to Theoden. Will you take me to him?"

"Sure." I shrugged and turned to lead him to the council chamber but stopped when I heard Gimli.

"Where is he? Where is he? Get out of my way. I'm gonna kill him!" I grinned as Gimli shoved through the crowd and made a beeline for Aragorn. "You are the luckiest, the canniest, and the most reckless man I ever knew. Bless you, laddie!" he said, hugging him. Boromir appeared behind Gimli.

"It is good to see you, Aragorn. We all feared for your safety."

Aragorn nodded to him before asking once more about Theoden. Gimli pointed him in the right direction, and the rest of us trailed behind him, giving him some privacy when he met up with Legolas, who gave him the Evenstar, which he had lost at the battle.

"So what went on in the meeting, guys?" I asked Gimli and Boromir, who stood on either side.

"It was not much, he did not have very much information concerning Saruman's movements," Boromir told me. "He basically pointed out the caves where the women and children will stay if there is an attack and the positions that will be taken by the troops."

I nodded. "So he really could have used my information."

"Don't take it personally, lass," Gimli said. I glared at him.

"He personally told me to leave."

"Well…it's like Boromir said, the meeting wasn't all that interesting."

"Smooth save," I said, grinning a little. Boromir chuckled.

"Shall we go in?" I gestured to Aragorn doing the push-the-doors-open-all-by-myself-like-a-badass move. Sadly, it didn't look as impressive from the back as it did from the front in the movie. Legolas fell into step beside us as we walked in.

"A great host you say?" Theoden asked Aragorn.

"All Isengard is emptied," he and I said together. Theoden looked at me in surprise, and I smirked at him, not caring how disrespectful it was. He narrowed his eyes at me before turning back to Aragorn. I heard Gimli stifle a laugh from beside me.

"How many?"

"Ten thousand strong at least." I let Aragorn say that by himself, pretty sure that I had made my point.

"Ten thousand?" Theoden didn't seem able to process what Aragorn had said.

"It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of Men. They will be here by nightfall," Aragorn said. Theoden turned and walked away from us, before spinning on his heel to face us.

"Let them come!" I had to give it to him, he looked pretty fierce, but it wouldn't be enough. You can't narrow your eyes at ten thousand Uruk-hai and expect them to turn tail and flee.

Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, Boromir, and I walked back outside as Theoden issued orders to prepare for the battle.

"What was that about?" Aragorn asked me once we were out of earshot of the king.

I shrugged. "Just resolving the I-can't-do-anything-because-I-have-boobs problem from earlier." They all winced. Oops. "Sorry. My filter wasn't engaged."

"Aragorn, you should get your shoulder tended to," Boromir said, looking with concern at said shoulder.

"No. There isn't enough time; we must prepare for the battle." With that, he led us out to the gates, where Theoden was standing, giving orders.

"We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army has ever breached the Deeping wall or set foot inside the Hornburg!"

"This is no rabble of mindless orcs. These are Uruk-hai. Their armor is thick and their shields broad." You tell him, Gimli! I don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm not too fond of Theoden.

"I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf," the king said, turning to Gimli and narrowing his eyes. He tends to do that a lot. "I know how to defend my keep." He turned and walked back inside, apparently going for the dramatic exit. Aragorn followed more slowly, clapping Gimli on the shoulder as he passed. We all followed, but didn't go along with Theoden as he went on with his pep-talk.


	30. Chapter 30

**Hey guys! I know it's been a while; I'm sorry! I'm thinking that updating once or twice a week is going to work with school; I'll try really hard to keep it regular! Thank you so much to LOTR-GOT-SherlockLuvr, The souless ones, otakuchamasherlockluvr, NaruVamp, Saphira, and Brave11 for reviewing!1 And thank you to everyone who's favorited and/or followed and to all of my readers!**

**Thank you to everyone who gave me their input on whether Michela should go with Aragorn to the Paths of the Dead or with the Rohirrim for the Battle of the Pelennor! I really appreciate it, and it really does matter to me! If you have an opinion about that, just put it in a review or send me a message!**

**Oh and my French teacher showed us a really easy way to do accents while typing, so I'm gonna go back and fix all of my accent-less Sindarin. Not really a big deal, but for some reason I'm incredibly happy about that...**

**Enjoy!**

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Legolas, Boromir, Gimli, and I walked along the wall, looking down at the land that stretched away beneath us. None of us had spoken since leaving Theoden and Aragorn.

Boromir, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and turned around.

"What are we doing here?" he hissed. "Why are we waiting to be slaughtered?"

"Boromir, Theoden has only done what he thinks is best for his people. We have already had this discussion with Gandalf," Legolas answered calmly.

"We should ride out! Meet them head-on, like Aragorn said!" He suddenly turned on me. "Why did you tell him to come here? Encourage him? He should fight!"

"You really think he would take my advice? He kicked me out of the meeting because I'm a girl! I doubt anything I say to him would be taken seriously. Why are you acting like this, anyway? It's not like we can change anything."

He stood for a moment before speaking. "You are right. I am sorry for yelling at all of you. I just do not wish to sit and wait for an army to march to me. I would ride out and meet them in battle, not cower behind walls as they come." He sighed.

"I too grow restless waiting for this battle," Gimli said, gripping his axe as if he wished to be killing orcs with it already.

I turned and stared out over the wall. I couldn't share their eagerness to fight. They were trained warriors, hardened by years of battle. I had fought twice, and even though I had knowledge of future events, I wasn't any safer in battle.

Suddenly, a shout rang out across the fortress: "Secure the gate!" I leaned over the wall and looked down to the gate. Sure enough, the great doors were being pulled closed, and the guards were putting the bolts down, locking it in place.

"Who's hungry?" Gimli asked eagerly, drawing my attention back to my companions. Boromir decided that he was, and I knew that I would need to eat something before the battle. Legolas declined, saying that he would go look for Aragorn.

Boromir, Gimli, and I made our way to the mess hall, where there were few people. I settled for a hunk of bread and a mug of water. Boromir and Gimli got a pile of meat, cheese, and bread, and each got a huge flagon of ale.

"Are you not hungry, lass?" Gimli asked, digging into his food. I just rolled my eyes and picked at my bread.

"Are you nervous?" Boromir asked, eating in a somewhat more dignified manner than the dwarf sitting next to him.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I've never fought in an actual battle before." The other ones hadn't been as long, and whole armies hadn't been involved.

Boromir nodded, understanding. "I too was nervous before my first battle, Michela. Do not fear: none of us will let anything happen to you."

"You can't really decide what will and will not happen in a battle, though, can you?" I asked.

"Well, no," he said, shrugging, "but we will protect you and stay by your side."

"Aye, lass," Gimli said, putting his drink down. "You needn't worry overmuch. Are you going to eat that bread?" I shook my head and handed it to him. I knew that I needed to eat, but I didn't think I would be able to stomach anything. Besides, I had eaten lunch earlier.

I stood up. "I'm gonna walk around some more. Later, guys."

They both said good-bye as I left, and I walked out of the hall, not sure where to go or what to do. I walked outside, looking around for Legolas or Aragorn. After a minute of searching through the crowd, I managed to find them both. They were walking in my direction, so I stood and waited for them. They had almost reached me when Eowyn suddenly walked out of the door I was standing by.

"My lord! Aragorn!" She walked up to him, and I followed her, coming to stand between her and Legolas.

"I'm to be sent with the women into the caves," she told him, clearly disappointed.

Aragorn bowed his head. "That is an honorable charge."

"To mind the children, to find food and bedding when the men return." Her voice broke as she said that, and I could tell without looking at her that she desperately wanted to fight. "What renown is there in that?"

"My lady, a time may come for valor without renown. Who then will your people look to in the last defense?"

"What about you?" she asked, turning to look at me. "You are fighting. Why do you not come to the caves?"

"Eowyn, I cannot take care of your people. My place is with my companions; I cannot leave them," I said gently, although I knew that nothing I said would make her feel better about her current position.

She turned back to Aragorn. "Let me stay with you. Do not make me leave."

"It is not in my power to command it." He looked Eowyn in the eye, and she stared right back at him, her blue eyes boring into his gray eyes.

"You do not command the others to stay! They fight beside you because they would not be parted from you! Because they love you!" At that, she dropped her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and, looking at the ground, she walked past us toward the caves.

Aragorn let out a long sigh.

"Do not worry, Aragorn," Legolas said, grasping his unwounded shoulder. "I do not believe there was anything you could have said that would have made that better." Aragorn nodded.

"I just wish that she could find happiness. I wish that she did not feel the need to prove her strength in battle, dying if she must, for I, and others, can see that she is indeed strong." Legolas nodded that time before turning to me.

"Where are Boromir and Gimli?"

"Still eating. I wasn't very hungry, so I left them to it. They might be a while." Legolas grinned and Aragorn's lips twitched at that.

"That does not surprise me," he said. "You did eat, though, didn't you?" Aragorn looked hard at me.

I shrugged. "A little bit, but I don't think I can stomach very much right now. If I survive the battle, I'll eat plenty, I promise."

"Very well. I do not want you collapsing during the fighting. You must keep up your strength."

"Speaking of keeping up one's strength, Aragorn, you must rest," Legolas said, staring at Aragorn. "You still have not had your shoulder tended to, you are exhausted, and you haven't eaten anything."

"I will be fine. Don't worry about me," he said, slightly annoyed.

"Aragorn, I think you need to listen to Legolas," I said, looking at his shoulder. His entire sleeve was crusty with dried blood, and the wound itself was still oozing little droplets of blood. "Your shoulder needs to be cleaned and bandaged before you fight."

He looked at us, and we both glared at him. He finally caved. "Very well. You can tend to my shoulder, and I shall eat, but I will not sleep. Sitting and eating shall have to count as enough rest." Legolas and I both nodded.

"I shall tend to your shoulder, Aragorn. Michela, would you bring him some food? I can tend to him in the same room where I took care of your leg."

"Yep, I'll be right there." I turned and walked back to the dining hall, grabbing a hunk of bread, cheese and meat and a mug of water. I didn't see Boromir and Gimli, so I assumed that they had finished their mountains of food. Where they had gone, I had no clue.

I went back to the room where Legolas had taken care of my leg. Aragorn was sitting on the bench, and Legolas was helping him to remove his shirt. Without it, I could see that his entire arm was bloody. It looked pretty bad. I set the food down on the bench beside him.

"Here you go, Aragorn," I said before turning to Legolas. "Can I help with anything?"

"You can wash his arm and shoulder while I go get more bandages. I think we might need more." I nodded and started to clean the blood off of Aragorn.

"Just let me know if I'm pushing too hard or something like that," I told him, not wanting to cause him pain. I didn't know what was just blood and what was actually the wound.

"You're doing fine," he said, smiling. "Am I allowed to eat while you tend to me? I actually am hungry."

"Hmm, I thought you said you were fine when Legolas told you to eat earlier." He grinned up at me.

"Well, now that I actually have time to eat, I will do so. And I could hardly admit to that elf that he was right, could I?"

I started laughing. "Seriously? Stubborn male pride? I guess men are the same whatever world you're in."

"Surely even you cannot find something to laugh at while cleaning a man's wound, Michela?" Legolas had come back. He was standing in the doorway holding more bandages, and he seemed to be torn between exasperation and amusement.

"Hey, this was all Aragorn."

"Oh really?" Legolas turned his gaze to the him, raising an eyebrow.

"What? I don't even know what I did!" Aragorn tried to defend himself. I turned back to him and rolled my eyes.

"Just eat your food," I growled. I went back to cleaning his shoulder.

"The wound is smaller than it had seemed with all of the blood, Aragorn," Legolas said. "Although it will still need to be bandaged. I am surprised that you even survived the fall; to escape with relatively minor injuries is astounding." It really was. Most of the skin from his shoulder was missing, his upper arm was covered in fairly shallow scratches, and his was pretty bruised, but other than that, he was fine.

"Is that good, Legolas?" I asked, stepping back. "There aren't any small stones in the cuts, are there?"

"Yes, that's clean, Michela," he said, moving forward to look more closely at Aragorn's arm. "I will look, but I do not see any." He started to wrap up Aragorn's arm after looking over it. "You do not need to stay if you do not wish to, but if you do, you are welcome to."

"Nah, I'll stay here. I don' know where Gimli and Boromir are, and I don't mind blood. I actually wanted to be a surgeon in my world," I said, sitting on the floor.

"A surgeon? What is that?" Aragorn asked.

"They're a kind of specialized doctor. They drug people so that they fall asleep, and then they cut them open and fix things that are wrong inside the body. There are heart surgeons, brain surgeons, mouth surgeons, bone surgeons. There's tons of different specialties," I explained.

"Why did you want to be a surgeon?" Legolas asked.

"I don't know. Medicine had always interested me, and I thought it'd be a good way to go." We lapsed into silence, and Legolas finished up bandaging Aragorn's arm.

"Do you need assistance with your shirt and tunic, Aragorn?" Legolas asked. He just shook his head and started to pull his shirt back on.

"Be sure that you do not pull on the bandages." Aragorn didn't say anything, he just finished getting dressed. When he was done, we all walked out and headed to the armory.

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**I was writing this and I was like hmm shirtless Aragorn? YES SHIRTLESS ARAGORN! (Not that anything's gonna happen between him and Michela.) I hope you liked it! Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey guys! I know it's been a while; I'm really sorry! I meant to update yesterday but I was exhausted. But I'm here now! I cannot believe how many reviews this has gotten! Over 100!1 You guys are freaking great and I LOVE y'all so much! HUGE thanks to otakuchamasherlockluvr, LOTR-POTC-SherlockLuvr, NickyNerd, Hobbitfromtheshire, Saphira, Sophi again, 1Corinthians 1313, and a guest for reviewing!1! To otakuchamasherlockluvr: Go for it! You, my friend, have got style! :D**

**Okay, I know that y'all want to get to the Battle of Helm's Deep (believe me, I do too!) but there's just one more chapter before that happens! But I promise you the next chapter will be the Battle!**

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Boromir and Gimli were already there, standing in the crowd of old men and young boys who would be fighting tonight. The mood of our group quickly changed as we saw them, too young or too old. They didn't have training, the armor didn't even fit some of them, and they were all scared, to say the least.

We joined Boromir and Gimli, who were both looking at the armor.

"They don't have a mail shirt short enough for you, Gimli," Boromir was saying as we approached them. "And we haven't the time to get any of them adjusted."

Gimli just grumbled something about men and put the mail shirt he was holding back. They both looked up as we came to stand by them.

"You're looking better, lad," Gimli said to Aragorn.

"How is your shoulder?" Boromir asked him.

Aragorn shrugged. "It is not too serious. Legolas bandaged it, and I was able to have some food. I am well."

"That is good. Such a warrior as yourself would be sorely missed in the battle tonight, were you unable to fight," Boromir said. "The soldiers that we have will barely be enough, I fear."

Aragorn sighed as he looked around the armory. "Farmers, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers." He was right.

"Most have seen too many winters," said Gimli.

"Or too few." Legolas nodded to indicate a group of young boys who were being handed swords that were more than half as long as the boys were tall. I couldn't believe that Théoden would force boys who were so young to fight. "Look at them. They're frightened. You can see it in their eyes."

Most of the men in the room turned to look at us, and they all fell silent. They knew that most of them would die, and they knew that there wasn't much hope, at least not yet. But they were still fighting. Even though they were scared, they would still defend their country.

"Legolas…" I said quietly, but he kept going.

"Boe a hyn. Neled herain dan caer menig." (And they should be. Three hundred against ten thousand.) Even though I didn't understand most of what he was saying – I hadn't had Sindarin a lesson since we were on the Anduin – I still knew what he said.

"Si, beriathar hyn ammaeg na ned Edoras," Aragorn replied, following his lead and switching to Sindarin. (They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras.)

"Do you know what they are saying?" Boromir whispered in my ear. I just shrugged; I didn't want to have to "translate." I could just tell him later.

"Aragorn, nedin dagor hen ú-'erir ortheri. Natha daged dhaer!" (Aragorn, they cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!)

"Then I shall die as one of them!" Aragorn shouted, stepping forward. He turned right after that and walked away, up the stairs and out of the armory. After a second, Legolas turned to follow him, but Gimli stopped him.

"Let him go, lad. Leave him be." Legolas sighed and looked back at us.

"I do not have his faith. I fear that our endeavor here is hopeless." He was worried, as anyone would be. We all were.

"Legolas, there is always hope. I'm scared, too, but Aragorn believes that we can win, or at least survive this battle. I trust him, and I think that he's right," I said.

"Well, don't you know how all of this ends, anyway?" Boromir asked. I looked around, worried that someone had heard, but everyone had gone back to their weapons and armor.

"In theory, yes. But I may have inadvertently changed something, even by just being here, that would cause a whole series of changes that would screw up the end result." I remembered the conversation Gandalf and I had had a few nights ago, when everyone else had been asleep. Could Boromir change things for the worst in this battle? Could I change things for the worst?

"Well then, we must hope for the best," he said quietly. Was he thinking about himself, too?

The four of us stood in silence, watching the flow of the men in and out of the armory, for a few minutes before we left. Boromir headed out, saying he wanted to discuss strategies with people. Gimli said something about more ale. I followed the two of them, not wanting to stand amongst men who were doomed, and Legolas went with me. I had no idea where to go or what to do.

Legolas and I stopped when we were outside, standing on the steps of the Hornburg. I looked up at the statue of Helm Hammerhand, dark against the fading sky, which was spotted with birds that had gathered, sensing a battle. I could hear them cawing from where I stood, and the sound only added to my nerves.

It was Legolas who broke the silence.

"You are right, Michela. You and Aragorn. There is hope." He looked at me, smiling. "Do you want to go back to the wall?"

"Sure." I shrugged. We'd already been there with Boromir and Gimli a few hours ago, but I didn't have anything else to do.

Legolas led the way out of the Keep and up the stairs. We walked slowly down the wall together, looking out over the Deep, knowing that soon it would be filled with orcs and bodies and blood. About halfway down, we stopped, and I hopped up on the wall to sit, dangling my feet over the edge. Legolas joined me.

"There aren't any stars tonight," I said, staring up at the now dark sky. Menacing clouds blocked the stars and the moon, making the Deep seem like a cave, the mountains closing in around us.

"Indeed. I fear it will rain tonight." I laughed grimly as I recalled that it would certainly rain.

"Oh yeah. And it's gonna be big." I sighed, and Legolas reached over and took my hand.

"Michela, it is only natural to feel fear before a battle, but I know that you will survive this. I have seen you fight, and you were trained by the Marchwarden of Lothlorien. Besides, we'll all be watching out for each other."

I smiled at him. "I know you will, and I know that I can fight. I just almost wish that it had already started. At the beginning, you don't know what to do, but then you can get going and get into a groove. It was always like that with school. After a while, it just comes naturally." He nodded.

It wasn't just my life that I was concerned about, though, and Legolas' comment about Haldir only brought that particular issue to the forefront of my thoughts. Should I save him? Would that change things too much? Boromir was alive and that would already alter things…but how much?

We sat there for a few more minutes, each of us thinking, before we slid back off and started to stroll back towards the Keep, still holding hands. When we were almost to the Hornburg, I saw Aragorn talking to a young boy holding a sword. He took it and swung it around for a few seconds before handing it back. I remembered that the boy's name was Haleth, son of Hama, and I wondered if it was the same Hama that had died in the warg attack.

Legolas released my hand. I looked up, and he caught my eye and nodded toward Aragorn. I figured that he would want to apologize on his own, so I trailed behind a little bit, reaching the bottom of the stairs to the armory when they were clasping each other's shoulders.

Aragorn looked up at the sound of my footsteps and smiled. "I am glad you joined us, Michela. I was going to ask if you needed any armor. There is plenty here, and I'm sure that we could find some that would fit you."

"Nah, I'm good. I've got the armor Haldir gave me." I gestured to indicate the tough leather armor that I had on.

Before anyone could say anything else, a horn rang out, echoing against the mountains around us. Remembering that Haldir was coming, I immediately turned and sprinted up the stairs, leaving Legolas and Aragorn behind. I ran over to the gates and made it just in time to see the elves make their grand entrance.

Théoden stood, waiting to greet the elves, and I ran up next to him and his men. I had to hold back a laugh at the look on his face: he was completely shocked, trying to cover it up, but not doing an entirely wonderful job.

I beamed as Haldir walked in, leading the battalion of elves through the gates of Helm's Deep. He stopped in front of Théoden, but his troops continued on, marching through the gate until the courtyard was a mass of smooth gray cloaks and shiny silver armor. When they all halted, Théoden turned his gaze to Haldir.

"How is this possible?"

Haldir turned to the king. "I bring word from Lord Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between elves and men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance." He bowed at the end, one hand on his chest.

When Théoden stepped back, I leaped forward. "Haldir!" I immediately wrapped him in a hug, which he returned.

"Nidiriel! It is good to see you; I had not thought to find you here."

I stepped back, raising an eyebrow. "And where else would I be?"

He laughed. "I should have expected it, I suppose. I am glad to see that you are well."

He looked up, and I followed his gaze to see Aragorn coming towards us. I stepped aside as he greeted Haldir.

"Mae govannen, Haldir." (Well met, Haldir.) He then proceeded to give the elf a bear hug. "You are most welcome," he said when they pulled back.

It was then Legolas' turn to say hello, and he stepped forward. He and Haldir grabbed each other's shoulder in a more proper greeting, smiling at each other. I jumped when the elves, who had stood completely still for the entirety of our greetings, turned as one and put their bows to the ground. Haldir looked at them before turning back to Aragorn, Legolas, Théoden, and I.

"We are proud to fight alongside men once more."

Théoden just nodded, still awed. After he had regained the use of his voice, he spoke.

"We thank you for coming, my lord. You may place your men – elves – troops along the far side of the wall." He gestured to indicate a portion of the wall that was lower and stretched across the gap between the mountains.

"Very well, sire. It shall be so," Haldir said with quite a bit more eloquence. He bowed once more and then turned to speak to his troops. "Pado na lín sadir!" (Take your positions!)**

The elves marched off to their spots on the wall, and once more the men of Rohan stared as they passed. I could see that now they had at least a little bit of hope; they could possibly survive the night.

And speaking of surviving the night… What was I going to do about Haldir?

* * *

"Let's kill tonight…kill tonight…Show them all you're not the ordinary type…" I sang softly to myself from the top of the wall, looking out over the Deep. Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and I stood with Haldir's troops on a section of the lower part of the wall. The captain of the Lothlorien battalion stood a few dozen elves to my left, not ideal considering the fact that, regardless of my indecision, I still wanted to keep an eye on him.

"What are you singing?" Boromir asked from beside me.

"It's a song from my world." I leaned forward, drumming my fingers on the wall, and let out a sigh. "I wish it would just start already. I can't stand this waiting." Especially knowing that I'd have to make another huge decision concerning the fate of Middle Earth.

"You are nervous." It wasn't a question.

"No shit, Sherlock," I muttered.

"Sherlock? What is…Sherlock?" Legolas' wonderful elvish hearing had picked up on what I'd said.

"He's a fictional detective from Earth. Sherlock Holmes. It's a book series, but they've made loads of TV shows." I couldn't help but smile as I recalled BBC's Sherlock, starring Benadryl Cucumberpatch…

"Are you positively sure he's fictional, lass?" Gimli piped up from the other side of Legolas. "I seem to recall you saying something about fictional characters in your living room a few months back."

"Well, now that you bring that up…" I said, laughing. A thought suddenly struck me, and I turned to Boromir. "Speaking of fictional characters in my living room, I just realized that I never thanked you for saving my life."

"What do you mean?"

"When you first showed up, and those robbers were there. You saved my life. Thank you."

He smiled down at me. "You are most welcome." Suddenly, he laughed. "Well then I suppose we are even, aren't we? I saved your life, and apparently you saved mine." He clapped me on the shoulder. "And I believe that I have yet to thank you for that. Thank you, Michela."

"Great! Now if any of us die tonight, we've got that all cleared up," I said cheerfully, surprised to realize that I wasn't as nervous as I had been, courtesy of the guys.

"Not quite," Legolas said, also smiling. "I do believe that Aragorn also rescued you."

"Damn, you're right." I turned to face him. "Did you really have to say that? Now I've got to go find him in case one of us dies tonight," I said mock-seriously. Legolas laughed, but then suddenly fell silent as he stared ahead. I looked back to the Deep, and my breath caught in my throat: torches, tiny pinpricks of light, were bobbing along, coming towards us in the dark. The Uruk-hai had arrived.

I looked over to see Gimli jumping up and down, trying to see over the edge of the wall. "You could have picked a better spot," the dwarf grumbled to Legolas, who smiled tightly.

Footsteps sounded behind me, and I turned to see Aragorn.

"Oh, good! There you are! I just wanted to say, thank you for saving my life that night we first met. I just realized a few minutes ago that I never thanked you and Boromir." It was a minor word-vomit, but I blame the nerves.

"You are welcome, Michela. I would not have acted any differently in any other situation of that sort, but I am especially glad that nothing happened to you."

"Awesome," I said before turning to Legolas. "See?" I shoved him lightly. "Now I'm good." Aragorn raised an eyebrow at the exchange, so I explained it to him. "I thanked Boromir, but then Mr. Princeling here informed me that I hadn't thanked you, so that if I did end up dying, I still wouldn't have thanked you, but now I have thanked you, so there, elf-boy." My companions looked like they were torn between amusement and concern at my slightly panicked rambling.

"I do not think that you will die tonight, Michela. I do not think that any of us will," Aragorn said calmly, looking me in the eye before looking beyond me to the army that was growing ever closer. I heard a sharp intake of breath. "They are getting closer."

"Aye, that they are," Gimli said. "Whatever luck you live by, lad, let's hope it lasts the night."

"Your friends are with you, Aragorn," Legolas said, slightly more comforting than Gimli. Right as he finished speaking, lightning flashed across the sky, briefly illuminating the shining black mass of orc that was coming towards us. I shivered as the peal of thunder echoed against the mountains around us.

"Let's hope they last the night," Gimli said once more.

"Ever the optimist, aren't you, Master Dwarf?" Boromir teased in a falsely cheerful voice. Gimli just chuckled as Aragorn walked off. The man rolled his eyes before turning to me. "Aragorn is right, Michela. We will all be fine."

I didn't say anything, not trusting myself not to word-vomit again. The four of us just stood on the wall, looking out into the darkness as the army of Isengard moved closer and closer, the harsh shouts of the Uruk-hai echoing through the Deep.

I looked up when I felt something cold on my hand and was rewarded with a lovely drop of rain in my eye. I sighed as more and more fell, tinkling against the metal armor worn by the elves all around us. In less than a minute, it was pouring rain, and my hair was soaked in its ponytail.

The orcs continued on their march toward the wall, and I pulled my bow from its place on my back, nocking an arrow in preparation.

"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!" Aragorn's voice rang out over the wall.

"What did he say?" Boromir and Gimli asked.

"Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none," Legolas and I answered. He looked at me, confused: we had not had Sindarin lessons since the Anduin, and we certainly hadn't gotten that far.

"Movies," I said. Legolas nodded in understanding, having seen a few while he'd been on Earth.

I turned my attention back to the army in front of us to see that they were even closer. One Uruk climbed on top of a boulder in the middle of the field, surrounded by his soldiers. He let out a wordless yell, and every one of the orcs stopped moving, standing shoulder to shoulder across the gap in the mountains. With another cry, the army started to stomp and pound their spears on the ground.

"What's happening out there?" Gimli asked urgently, hopping up and down to try and get a glimpse of the army. Legolas, the elves, and I all drew our bows, preparing to fire on Aragorn's command.

"Shall I describe it to you? Or would you like me to find you a box?" I laughed despite myself; that had always been one of my favorite lines in _The Two Towers_. Of course, my favorite part of that movie had always been the Battle of Helm's Deep. I now had strongly mixed feelings about that.

I jumped as I heard Aragorn shout "Dartho!" (Hold!) and realized that the old man must have let his arrow slip. Looking back down, I saw a lone orc fall to the ground, an arrow in his throat. The Uruk-hai, even more agitated now, shuffled impatiently where they stood waiting for their leader. He cried out once more, raising his sword, and every single Uruk in the Deep ran forward, shouting, their crude swords and spears held high.

It had begun.

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**See? I now have no choice but to write about the battle :3**

**GAHH MORE LEGOLAS FLUFF I'm sorry I couldn't help myself!**

**Thanks so much for reading! Please review and tell me what you thought!**

****This was a very rough translation: I couldn't find a translator that would work, so I had to piece the sentence together from an English-Sindarin dictionary I found. It literally says "Walk to your places." If anyone's got a better translation, please let me know!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hey guys! Guess what chapter this is... The Battle of Helms Deep! *dun dun dun* I'm so excited that we're finally here! Really huge "thank you"s to Maethoriel Artemis, LOTR-POTC-SherlockLuvr, Saphira, Elf sister, and Brave11 for reviewing and to everyone who's favorited and/or followed and to all of my readers for being amazing!**

**Without further ado, I give you The Battle of Helms Deep! :D**

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"Tangado a chadad!" (Prepare to fire!) Aragorn shouted as the Uruk-hai ran towards the wall, towards us. I pulled the string back, my hand touching my cheek, waiting for the command to fire.

"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc," Legolas said from beside me. "Their armor is weak at the neck and beneath the arm." He repeated it in English for my benefit.

"Thanks," I replied, still staring at the orcs that were rushing at us.

"Hado i philinn!" Aragorn shouted once more, and I let my arrow go, watching as it sank into the neck of an Uruk in the front line. I smiled grimly, nocking another arrow and pulling it back.

"Did they hit anything?" Gimli asked, still hopping up and down in an attempt to see over the wall.

I didn't answer, too focused on what I was doing as I let another arrow go, killing another orc. Boromir drew his sword as the army grew closer, and Gimli noticed, tightening the grip on his axe.

"Send them to me, come on!" he growled eagerly. I heard Boromir snort and looked over to see him rolling his eyes, a smile tugging at his mouth.

"Fear not, they are coming at quite a fast pace," he said drily. I shot another orc; my kill total was up to five. I didn't have time to shoot another before the army reached the wall.

"Pendraith!" Aragorn called out, and everyone on the wall put away their bows and took out their swords.

"Ladders!" I shouted over to Gimli, who beamed at me.

"Good! We shall see how they like the feel of my axe!" It was my turn to roll my eyes as I turned my attention back to the wall and the ladder that the orcs had decided to raise a few feet from us.

"Michela, whatever happens, stay close to us," Legolas said before shooting the first orc that popped his head over the wall.

"I'll try." I wasn't going to try to make promises in the middle of a battle. Two more orcs showed up and were quickly dispatched by the surrounding elves; however, more were coming, and theirs wasn't the only ladder that was up. Soon they were swarming over, swinging black blades and sending a few elves and men over the side. I winced as their screams tore through the night, but dragged my focus back to the Uruk that now stood in front of me.

"You wanna have a go, huh?" I said, stepping forward, my sword in my hand. He swung his blade at me, but I ducked and lunged forward, stabbing him in the chest. I took out another one by decapitation, and another by kicking him over the wall.

"Legolas! Two already!" Gimli shouted. I turned to see the two of them a few feet away, Legolas standing by the ladder, shooting down orcs who dared to attempt the climb.

"I'm on seventeen!" he called back.

"I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!" Gimli yelled at him, swinging his axe madly to emphasize his point.

"Watch what you say, Gimli!" I shouted, slicing an arm off of an orc before stabbing it in the stomach. "You might wind up with two 'pointy-ears' outscoring you!"

"And what would your count be?" Boromir joined our discussion, black blood dripping from his blade.

"Ten!" I relieved another Uruk of his head, spinning back to face my friends.

"Nineteen!" Legolas shouted. After that, it got kind of hard to keep up a conversation, so I focused on slicing, slashing, and stabbing any orc that came across my path.

After about half an hour passed in that manner, I realized that I hadn't been keeping an eye on Haldir. I immediately started to look around as best I could without losing my head. It took a few minutes, but I finally spotted him, fighting with a group of elves from Lothlorien. I managed to hack my way through the sea of black armor, skin, and blood, finally reaching him.

"How's life?" I shouted over the din of the battle.

"It could be better; however, I am glad to see that you are doing well, Michela," he shouted back. We fought together for a while, but the battle eventually separated us again. I was on the far right side of the wall when I heard someone shouting.

"Togo hon dad, Legolas!" (Bring him down, Legolas!) It was Aragorn. _Shit_. Where was the orc? Was I too close to the drain? "Dago han! Dago han!" (Kill him! Kill him!) I couldn't look around to see where the orc was on the ground: the fighting was too thick in my area. Fortunately – or maybe unfortunately? – I didn't have to wait too long.

**_BOOM._**

The wall beneath my feet blew up, sending me flying through the air and into the courtyard below. I landed heavily, but my fall was slightly cushioned by an Uruk. I leaped to my feet, pointing my sword at him before realizing that he was dead. I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly checked myself over for injuries. Although I hurt like hell from the fall, I wasn't seriously injured. My hands and arms had sustained multiple scrapes, but other than that, I was good.

I looked over to the huge hole in the wall and swore as the Uruk-hai streamed in, splashing through the water…straight toward Aragorn. I glanced up as a small figure jumped off of the wall and flew through the air, landing amongst the orcs and giving Aragorn time to pull himself together. But I couldn't stand still: I had to get back to the wall.

I sprinted past Boromir, who was fighting with the soldiers that had fallen off of the wall and past Aragorn, who was rallying the elves to him. I heard him shout out, leading the charge, right as I reached the stairs. I got there just in time to see Legolas grab a shield that was lying abandoned by the stairs, throw it down ahead of him, jump on, and proceed to surf down the stairs, shooting orcs as he went. I allowed myself a little moment of happiness in the midst of the battle: Legolas was one sexy badass elf.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stand there and stare at Legolas for the rest of the night: I had to find Haldir. I reached the top of the stairs, scanning for him, but was forced to continue fighting. I fell into a groove: kick, slash, spin, stab, duck, cut, don't die. But no matter how many orcs I killed, they just kept coming.

"Nan barad! Nan barad! Haldir!" I heard Aragorn shouting, and I desperately resumed my search for the elf. I found him when he shouted out to his troops.

"Nan barad!" He flung out his arm, pointing to the Keep, before going back to fighting the orc in front of him.

"NO!" I shouted, leaping forward through the wall of orcs as Haldir was cut along his arm. He doubled over, gasping in pain, and I threw myself at him, knocking him down as a sword whistled through the air above our heads. I rolled off of him and pulled my sword up just in time to block another blow from the orc, who had us at a bit of a disadvantage, seeing as we were both on the ground. With as much force as I could, I swung my legs at his, knocking him to the ground. Using the time to my advantage, I leaped up and proceeded to stab him before turning to help Haldir up.

"You know what?" I said, offering him my hand. "Screw the canon." Before he could ask what I meant, we had to go back to fighting: orcs were surging around us, trapping us. We fought back to back, and eventually a gap appeared on my side. I dragged Haldir out of the circle of orcs, and we ran to the stairs as fast as we could, but they were filled with orcs.

I looked around desperately for a way out: we had to get back to the Keep, but to do so, we had to get off of the wall. Haldir tugged at my arm.

"Michela! We must jump! There is no other way off this wall!" I would have groaned had my life not been at risk, but instead I just took a running start and shoved myself off of the wall, following Haldir. As soon as I landed, pain shot up my ankle and through my leg.

"Shit!" I couldn't put any weight on my ankle without it hurting. "Haldir – help!" He ran over to me from where he had landed and grabbed my arm, draping it over his shoulders.

"Can you run? We must get to the Keep," he said urgently, glancing around at the orcs that were running back down the stairs. I nodded, and we took off at a run, following the few elves and men who hadn't made it back yet, either.

Even with Haldir supporting me, as soon as I put weight on my ankle pain shot through my leg. I gritted my teeth and ran on, though, knowing that we needed to get inside. The rain had turned most of the courtyard to mud, which made it even harder to run.

Due to my ankle and Haldir's arm, which was bleeding quite a lot, the two of us were the last to make it to the Keep before the gates swung shut. Haldir and I started to make our way through the crowd of soldiers, searching for Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and/or Boromir. It took a minute, but we finally found the latter, who had been looking for us.

"Boromir!" I called out, hoping he would hear me over the shouts of the men surrounding us. Fortunately, he did.

"Michela! Haldir! We have been looking for you everywhere! Where were you?"

"We just made it in," Haldir told him.

"Everyone else made it, too, right?" I asked, still peering over the crowd, looking around.

"They are all inside, yes." I breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone was still okay. For now. "You two look terrible." We really did. I was muddy from jumping/being thrown off of the wall not once, but twice, and Haldir's arm was still bleeding profusely.

"We have been, you know, battling orcs for a few hours," I said, mock-glaring at Boromir.

"Not to mention jumping off of walls to get here," Haldir chipped in, smiling.

"Yes, that was an absolutely brilliant idea, Haldir." My voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He laughed, but before he could say anything, we were interrupted by Théoden.

"My lords and lady, we must move to defend the gate. All of us! Quickly!" He walked past us without looking to see if we were following, Gamling trailing behind him. I stared after them, surprised that Théoden had acknowledged me, but I guess he knew that he needed everyone he could get to fight.

"Shall we go, then?" Boromir asked, drawing his sword. I nodded, and Haldir and I both drew our own swords.

As soon as I put my foot down, pain raced up my leg again. I swore and hopped over to Haldir, who was closest, leaning against him.

"Can you still fight?" He and Boromir were looking at me with concern. I nodded.

"I'll have to. I can't let Gimli beat me, can I?" I smiled slightly before stepping forward once more, ignoring the pain. "I've only got thirty-five, after all." I was determined to get at least forty-three.

The two of them nodded, and then we set off for the gate, me trailing behind a good bit. Once we got there, we saw that a fairly large hole had been made in the gates, courtesy of the Uruk-hai with their battering ram. Awesome.

Théoden lunged forward, stabbing with a spear, before he himself was jabbed in the shoulder with one. He backed up, calling for reinforcements and timber with which to strengthen the gate.

Aragorn and Gimli ran past me, weapons drawn. They didn't even notice I was there as I stood, leaning against the wall to catch my breath. My ankle was hurting like a bitch.

"How long do you need?" Aragorn asked Théoden, coming up beside the king.

"As long as you can give me."

"Gimli!" Aragorn pulled the dwarf through a side door that I knew led out to the wall beside the gates. I smiled to myself as I thought about the conversation they'd be having right now. That brought to mind the fact that they'd have to be hauled up the wall, so I turned and made my way up to the top of the Keep as fast as I could manage.

When I got to the top, I saw Legolas there, shooting at orcs and even taking down a ladder as it was being raised. I stopped to admire the view, but was shaken from my thoughts when he turned and shouted something to me.

"Michela! We need rope!" What? Rope? Oh yeah, Aragorn needed to get up the wall. Crap. I had no idea where Théoden kept his rope, and even if I did, there was no way in hell I'd be able to run and get it.

"I don't know, Legolas. I can't-" But I didn't need to worry. A soldier ran over, carrying a coil, which he handed to Legolas. I hobbled over as the elf stood on the wall and threw the rope over to Aragorn, who I'm assuming grabbed it. I got a hold of the rope, along with two or three other soldiers and Legolas, and we all started to pull Aragorn and Gimli up.

"Heave!" they shouted, and we all pulled back. Needless to say, my ankle wasn't fond of this, but I kept on pulling.

"Heave!" Pain.

"Heave!" Pain.

After what seemed like forever, two heads appeared over the top of the wall, and Legolas quickly grabbed Aragorn and pulled him up, followed by Gimli. I dropped the rope in relief and hobbled over to lean against the wall. I could tell that my ankle was swelling: my boot was feeling way too tight around it, and when I touched it, I could feel warmth through the leather. Fun.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Gamling shouted, and I looked over the wall to see that the gates had been broken and Uruk-hai were pouring through. I groaned. This meant more running.

"We must retreat!" Aragorn shouted to us. Legolas turned around to look at me and saw that my ankle wasn't fit for running. (I was making a point of not letting it touch the ground.) Without a word, he scooped me up, bundling me against his chest, before running down the stairs after Aragorn and Gimli. I must say, it was quite nice to be squished against the very firm chest of a very attractive elf. I enjoyed the ride while it lasted, but all too soon I was being put down in the main hall of the Hornburg.

Legolas ran to the door with Aragorn, Boromir, and some of the other men, and they all started to stack furniture and anything heavy against the doors. It was only a few minutes before the Uruks started to try and break down the door, and the stacking of the furniture became even more frantic.

"The fortress is taken. It is over." I looked over at Théoden, who was just staring at everything that was going on, apparently in shock. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, turning back to see Aragorn storming over to him.

"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it. They still defend it. They have died defending it!" I could see a light in his eyes that I hadn't seen before: he was fiercer and more powerful, more _there_ than the Aragorn I knew. I realized that even though these weren't his people, he would still die to defend them, to give them a chance to escape. Théoden saw it too, and his eyes widened as he gazed at Aragorn.

"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" he asked impatiently, trying to bring Théoden back to reality. "Is there no other way?"

"There is one passage. It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far: the Uruk-hai are too many." Gamling stepped forward, answering the question. Even he seemed withdrawn, unsure…a little defeated. I did roll my eyes that time: these guys seriously needed to lighten up.

"Tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass, and barricade the entrance!" Aragorn commanded, seeing that no one else was going to do anything.

Boromir came up to us then, looking at me. "Michela, perhaps you should…" He trailed off when I leveled a glare at him, clearly saying something along the lines of "If you finish that sentence I will _murder_ you."

"So much death…" Théoden mused, ignoring our exchange. "What can men do against such reckless hate?"

"Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them." Yes! Aragorn said it! We were doing this!

"For death and glory." I rolled my eyes again. This guy seriously did not get the point.

"For Rohan. For _your people_." There you go, Aragorn, that's the spirit!

"The sun is rising," Gimli piped up, looking at the window, through which we could see that the sky was indeed lightening. Even though I hadn't been there when he had said them, I heard Gandalf's words echoing through my head.

_ "__Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east."_

"Yes. Yes." Théoden finally looked like he knew what he was doing, and the light was back in his eyes as he said, "The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep one last time!" People ran off to fetch our horses from the stables.

"Yes!" Gimli shouted before sprinting to the stairs that led to the huge horn at the top of the tower.

The doors were beginning to give under the efforts of the Uruk-hai when our horses were brought in, saddled and ready to go. They brought Hasufel and Brego along with Arod and Dyrstig, so I got my own horse.

I hopped over to Hasufel – I literally hopped – and looked at Aragorn, who was standing next to me by Brego.

"Little bit of help?" There was no way I'd be able to mount on my own.

"Are you sure that you should ride out? Your ankle is injured; I do not think it wise." I glared at him the same way I had glared at Boromir.

"There is no way in hell that I am going to stay behind. I'm riding down a causeway, not running a 5k." He looked confused when I said "5k," but walked over and helped me up anyway, lifting me into Hasufel's saddle. "Thanks," I said once I was up.

He just nodded and got onto Brego. We trotted over to Boromir, who was on Dyrstig, and Legolas, on Arod. I saw that Legolas had found a sword to use, since his knives wouldn't be long enough if he was fighting on horseback. I spotted Haldir on a borrowed horse next to Théoden. His arm had been wrapped up, I saw, and I breathed a little sigh of relief.

"Fell deeds awake!" shouted Théoden from in front of us. He had put his helmet on, and he had Herugrim, his sword, out, ready to fight. "Now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red dawn!" Okay, I may have said that last little bit along with him… What? That's my second favorite line in the entire movie!

A loud, slow rumbling sound filled the hall – and I'm sure the rest of the Deep as well – just as the doors burst open. I realized after a second that it was the Horn of Helm Hammerhand. It was deeper than the thunder from earlier, but also richer, and it sounded like there were multiple armies whose horns were echoing through the mountains instead of just one.

"Forth Eorlingas!" We all kicked our horses into action (I kinda just poked Hasufel, but he got the idea and started galloping with the others.) and raced down the hall and out the door, trampling the Uruks who had decided it would be a good idea to run in.

I swung my sword as I burst out into the courtyard, taking off heads and limbs. We galloped out of the ruined gate and down the causeway; the orcs had no idea what hit them, and before they could turn to run, they usually died.

When we were off the causeway, we spread out a little bit more, and I stabbed, beheaded, and sliced any orc who crossed my path. I heard the battle cries of the Riders, and I looked around and saw that they were kicking some serious ass. I smiled and just went back to work, determined to beat Gimli.

It wasn't very long at all before the sun actually rose, and in the light, I saw that there was a lone figure on the hill that stood to the east of the wall. I beamed as I stared up at Gandalf, sitting on Shadowfax. Suddenly, horsemen appeared all around Gandalf, and they all started to gallop down the incredibly steep slope. The orcs, in a panic, tried to form a line and hold their spears in a threatening manner, but the Rohirrim kept coming, bearing down on them.

The crowd of horses and riders crashed into the orcs, taking them out. I resumed fighting, as did the others who had watched Gandalf ride down, feeling nearly euphoric. We were really going to win. We had done it: we had made it through the night! I realized that I was smiling as I decapitated yet another orc, not a grim smile or a slightly panicked reaction to all the adrenaline that was pumping through my body, but an actual smile. I was _happy._

"Victory! We have victory!" Théoden's voice rang out over the sound of the battle, and my smile widened as I heard it.

It was only a matter of minutes before we wiped out most of the orcs and drove the survivors into the trees. Oh, yeah. The trees.

I stared out at them, realizing that Gandalf had not only brought the Rohirrim with him, he had brought a _forest_ with him. That was pretty hardcore.

"Stay out of the forest! Keep away from the trees!" Eomer warned everyone, riding up and down to make sure that we stayed away. I had no intentions of going through those trees, though, especially not since they had started to wave around violently. As I listened, I heard shrieks from the orcs and strange groans and snaps from the trees.

I looked over as I heard a horse draw up next to mine. It was Legolas.

"It is rather alarming, do you not think?" He was watching the forest in awe, staring at the trees as they moved about, waving and groaning. "All the same, I wish to journey to Fangorn sometime. I wish to see the great trees and to talk with them, I want to know their stories. Being in Fangorn made me feel young again, as if I were an elfling once more."

"You want to talk to trees…I wouldn't think that they'd be great conversationalists." I laughed slightly at his affronted expression.

"And what would that say of the elves? For we did teach the trees to speak after all." Legolas looked at me, pretending to be stern.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," I said hastily, smiling. He whacked me on my arm, smiling as well.

"We should get back to the Keep. I believe that I must speak with Gimli about certain matters. And you need to get your ankle looked at." I didn't bother resisting. I was unable to walk and would gladly get it checked out at this point.

We turned our horses around and followed the others back inside. Crowds of women and children were streaming out of the caves, desperately searching for loved ones. Some found those they were looking for, and their joy was overwhelming, but others were not so fortunate. I sighed sadly as we passed a group of older women who stood together, leaning against one another, with tears streaming down their faces.

"It is tragic that they must lose their loved ones, but it is always so in war," Legolas said quietly.

I didn't say anything, just kept on riding. We made our way slowly through the crowd and finally reached the castle. Legolas helped me dismount, and supported me as I hopped along, heading to the healing hall.

It was awful. There were too many men to fit inside, so many were sitting or lying along the corridor outside. More women were available to help out, but there were still way too many wounded men for them to be able to handle everything.

"We could just come back later…" I suggested, staring around. The men out in the hall weren't very badly wounded – I suspected that the ones who needed treatment the most would be inside – but there were still plenty of deep gashes and sticky puddles of blood. And the _smell_. It was almost too much.

I looked up at Legolas and saw that he wasn't thrilled, either; although, he didn't seem as shocked as me.

"Perhaps Aragorn can help you. He is, after all, a very skilled healer," Legolas said thoughtfully. "Come. We shall see if we can find him."

And so I hopped back the way we had come, still leaning heavily (although maybe a little more than was necessary *wink, wink*) on Legolas. We stopped first in the main hall, thinking that he'd be there with Théoden or other important people, and fortunately he was. My left leg was really tired of hopping by that point.

"Aragorn," Legolas called as we made our way over to him. He looked up from his sword, which he was cleaning, and smiled.

"Legolas, Michela. I am glad to see that you are well…or mostly well. Is something wrong with your foot, Michela?"

"Uh, yeah, I think it's sprained. I can't walk on it," I explained. "We went down to the healing hall but upon seeing it decided that maybe we'd ask you to look at it."

"Of course, sit down." He stood and gestured to the now unoccupied stool. I gratefully took a seat and extended my leg. "How did this happen?"

"I jumped off the wall." This received looks of disbelief, so I elaborated. "It was when I was with Haldir. There were too many orcs, and they were coming up the stairs toward us; we had no other way out. I would like to say that it was Haldir's idea, not mine." They both nodded at that; at least I had a good reason for running off of the Wall of Helm's Deep.

I winced as Aragorn picked up my foot, and he noticed.

"I shall need to take your boot off, Michela," he warned. I nodded and clenched my fists on the stool as he started to pull. It felt like he was pulling my foot off.

"Dammit, Aragorn!" I all but shouted at him.

"I am sorry, but I must do it to examine your ankle. I am doing it as gently as I can." I nodded again and squeezed my eyes shut as he removed my boot and started to gently poke at it. I hissed occasionally, but kept quiet for the most part.

"Your ankle is not sprained, Michela; I believe that you fractured it. I shall put a splint on it, and you are not to walk on it for at least a week. However, seeing as you are an elf, it will not take you very long to heal." I just stared at him. My ankle was broken? What about the Battle of the Pelennor? Would it heal by then?

"Michela?" I turned around and glared at Haldir. "What? Are you well?"

"No," I hissed at him. "No, I'm not 'well,' Haldir. And do you want to know why? Because my ankle's broken! Because it was your genius idea to jump off the freaking wall!" A part of my mind knew that it wasn't his fault, that he had only done what he had to do to get us out alive, but the larger part didn't care. I might not get to fight in the hugest battle of the Third Age of Middle Earth, and I needed someone to blame.

"I am sorry that your ankle is broken, Michela, but I do not think that we had any other choice. There was no other way off of the wall." At first he seemed taken aback, but then his voice became harder.

Not wanting to admit that he was right, I turned around with a huff, crossing my arms as Aragorn started to bind my ankle. Haldir angrily muttered something in Sindarin that I didn't understand before walking off.

"He was right, Michela. You said so yourself," Legolas gently reminded me.

I felt tears prickling in the back of my eyes. Once more, they were tears of anger. I just shrugged and didn't answer. It was Legolas' turn to mutter in Sindarin and walk off, although he did so in a calmer manner than Haldir. Aragorn finished up with my ankle and then helped me to my feet, handing my boot to me when I was standing.

"You should get some rest. A room has been set aside for you for the time being." I nodded, wondering if Aragorn had made sure of that. "I will assist you in getting there."

"Thanks," I muttered as he draped my arm over his shoulders, preparing to hop once more. The adrenaline from the battle was completely gone, and I realized that I was exhausted. I sincerely hoped my room had a bed of some sort.

It didn't take long to get to my room, and I was extremely grateful when we did. Aragorn opened the door and helped me over to the cot on one side. I collapsed on it immediately.

"Thank you, Aragorn," I said, smiling slightly.

"You are welcome, Michela. Now get some sleep." He left, closing the door behind him.

After taking my boots, belt, and armor off, I laid down and conked out.

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**Okay, I know a few of you wanted to me to kill Haldir, but I just hate that he dies, and I really really wanted to save him...so yeah... I hope you liked the chapter and that it wasn't too...I don't know...battley? drama-y at the end? It's 3 AM, I apologize. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think!**

**Oh and Happy Labor Day!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey guys! First off, I'd like to give my condolences to those who started school this week; it is an unescapable tragedy... Secondly, I'd like to thank Hobbitfromtheshire, LOTR-POTC-SherlockLuvr, Elf sister, otakuchamasherlockluvr, NaruVamp, Liv, and Saphira for reviewing! Okay, so kind of a filler chapter this time, but in the next one it'll pick up again!**

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Someone was knocking on my door. Persistently. I groaned and rolled over, hoping they would go away but stopped when I bumped my right ankle, causing pain to flare up. Why did my ankle hurt? It had been over a year since I'd had surgery on it, and everything had been fine since then.

I heard the door open, and I pulled my cloak up over my face to block the light that streamed into the room. Wait… I had a cloak?

Everything rushed back to me: I was in Middle Earth, the Battle of Helms Deep was over, and I had lived through it. I opened my eyes and sat up as someone walked over to the bed. It was Aragorn.

"Waddyawan?" I grumbled as I stared at him, waiting for my eyes to focus.

"We are leaving in an hour, and you need to eat before we go. You may also want to wash, or at least do something about your hair." Was that amusement I detected in his tone? I reached up to feel my hair but quickly pulled my hand back. That wasn't my hair…It felt like a wet hedgehog. I touched it again and realized that it actually was my hair, just matted with blood and mud, both of which had now dried, or were at least only damp.

"Ugh, that's gross," I muttered as I reached for my sword. The hair had to go; there was no way I'd be able to wash all of that out, and it'd be easier to deal with it if it was short, anyway.

"What are you doing?" Aragorn asked as I started to gently hack at the mess attached to my head.

"Going Mulan style." He raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Okay, there. That's better," I said, shaking out my hair, which now came down to my shoulders instead of the middle of my back. There was still some blood and mud in it, but it'd be much easier to wash now.

"Here," Aragorn handed me something, and it took a minute for me to realize that it was a crutch. "You cannot walk, and I believe that, as much of a gentleman as Legolas is, he would prefer to walk on his own at least some of the time."

"What, y'all don't want to take turns half-carrying me around?" I asked jokingly. "Thanks, Aragorn."

"You are welcome, Michela." He stood and clapped me on the shoulder before turning and walking out the room. "One hour," he reminded me over his shoulder.

I slowly pulled my boots on, not wanting to screw up the splint on my ankle, and placed my armor in my pack before standing and buckling my belt around my waist. My bow, quiver, and pack went over my shoulder, and I picked up my crutch and headed out of my room.

The hall wasn't very crowded, but it wasn't easy to navigate on a crutch. Most people moved out of the way at least a little, but some either didn't seem to see me or were too busy getting from one place to another to slow down.

I eventually made it to the mess hall, where I found Gimli and Boromir. Surprised? I think not.

"Sup, guys," I said, plonking down next to Gimli with some food.

"Greetings, Michela," Boromir said around his mug. "You seem well." Gimli was too preoccupied to speak, but he did nod at me, smiling as much as one can when one's mouth is filled to capacity. I laughed, turning to Boromir. He had a rather nasty looking gash across his forehead, but he seemed to be fine other than that.

"So do you. You're coming with us, right?" He nodded in affirmative, smiling.

"And you would not stay behind, no matter what we said?"

"You got that right. Important stuff's gonna start happening, and I intend to be there when it does." Really, that was a more polite way of saying "Shit's gonna hit the fan."

We all fell to eating after that, which meant silence. I was starving. I hadn't eaten in who knew how long, and I had been in a fricking battle for the vast majority of the night.

Once I finished, I stood, wobbling slightly, and, saying bye to Boromir and Gimli, went to go find Eowyn. I wanted to say good-bye to her as well, and I figured that she'd be able to help me find enough water for me to at least wash my hair.

I found her in the caves, overseeing the repacking of the food supplies for the trip back to Edoras. She turned around when she heard me, and immediately ran over to give me a hug.

"Michela! I'm so glad you are alright! I was so worried about you all, and then I didn't see you after the battle."

"Eowyn…can't…breathe…" I managed to gasp out. She released me, apologizing. "You're fine. I'm sorry I didn't come to see you, but Aragorn wrapped up my ankle, which is broken, and then sent me to get some sleep. I've only just finished eating, and I came to ask you for some help."

"Ah, well then I forgive you! And I'm sorry about your ankle. What do you need help with?"

"I need to find some water I can wash my hair in. It was too matted and gross to do anything with, so I cut it off, but it's still got too much blood and mud in it to be okay," I explained.

"I was wondering why your hair was shorter," she said, eyeing it. "Come. I shall find you some water and soap. Do you have enough time to bathe completely, or are you leaving soon?"

"Nope, I've got a little over half an hour, and I have other things to do, too." She nodded and started to walk away. I followed her as best I could over the uneven floor of the caves.

After washing my hair and tying it back into a ponytail, I headed out to find Haldir. I figured that he would be going back to Lothlorien, and I wanted to apologize for what I had said earlier. I asked around and finally heard that he was with the king in the Council Chamber. Deciding that I didn't want to have another showdown with Theoden, I waited outside the door for him and Haldir to finish up whatever they were discussing.

"I thank you once more, Lord Haldir, for your aid in this battle. We would not have fared as well as we did if it weren't for you and your troops," I heard Theoden say as the doors opened up and the two walked out.

Haldir bowed. "You are welcome, King Theoden. As I said last night, we are proud to honor the Old Allegiances." It was then that he saw me leaning by the door. "Michela? What are you doing here?" His voice became slightly colder, and I could tell that he wasn't over what had happened last night. Glancing at Theoden, I saw that his eyes had narrowed, and he was staring at me with poorly hidden dislike.

"I wanted to speak with you, if you have a moment." My eyes flicked to the king again. "In private." I was surprised to see that his eyes could get any narrower, but they did.

"I shall excuse you, my lord and lady," he said, turning on his heel and walking away.

"What do you wish to say?" Haldir was looking down at me, his arms folded and his mouth set.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said to you last night. I shouldn't have snapped at you; I know that you did what you had to do to save our lives, and it's not your fault my ankle's broken." His eyes softened, and his posture relaxed slightly.

"I forgive you, Michela. Last night _was_ rather trying and stressful." He smiled slightly. "And I have yet to thank you for saving my life, for if you had not knocked me down, that sword would have hit me, and I do not think that I would have lived." My stomach knotted up at the reminder that I had, once more, changed things, and once more, I had no idea what the consequences would be.

"No problem," I said, trying to shove the guilt down. I shouldn't feel guilty: I freaking saved somebody's life! "So we're good?"

"We are." He looked down at his feet before looking back up at me. "I must travel back to Lothlorien. Most of my troops were killed, but there are a few that survived the night, and they all must return to our home. Will you come with us, or do you still intend to travel with your companions?"

"I've got to go with Aragorn and the rest of them, Haldir." He nodded.

"I understand. I only thought to give you another option, in case you wished to return to Lothlorien once more."

"Thank you. Listen, I need to get going: we're going to leave soon, and I wouldn't want to keep His Majesty waiting."

"Was that hostility I detected between you two?" he asked, smiling at my tone when I mentioned the king.

"Uh, yeah, a little," I said, grimacing. "I tried to go to a strategy council a few hours before you got here, but he kicked me out just because I'm a girl."

To my surprise, Haldir laughed. "That is just like you, Nidiriel. Oh, I would have loved to see their faces." I grimaced again at the name, but didn't say anything. "I suppose if you must leave, we should say farewell," he said, sobering.

"Yeah…bye, Haldir."

"Namarie, Michela." For the second time that morning, I was wrapped up in a bone-crushing hug, crutch and all. I was surprised to feel tears prick in my eyes. It had been nice to see Haldir again, despite the circumstances, and I wanted him to come with us. I knew that he had to go back to Lorien, though. He pulled away, allowing me to breathe once more, and stepped back.

"Namarie," I said. With that, I turned and hobbled off, not wanting to cry. I already had my pack and my weapons, so I went straight to the stables, where I found the others waiting. Fortunately, it took a while to get there, so by the time I did, I was in a better mood, kind of looking forward to seeing Isengard.

Legolas was standing with Gimli by Arod, Aragorn was already on Brego, and Boromir was getting on Dyrstig. There were a few other Riders saddling up, but Gandalf, Eomer, and Theoden weren't there yet.

I walked over to Hasufel, who hadn't been saddled yet.

"Anyone want to tell me how to put a saddle on a horse?" The Riders all looked at me in disbelief, probably wondering how even a woman didn't know how to saddle a horse.

"I do not think that you should ride on your own, not with your ankle in its current condition," Legolas said. I nodded when I realized that I wouldn't be able to kick Hasufel into action with both feet. _If I only nudged him with my left foot, would he just go left?_ I wondered to myself. I was rewarded with the mental image of myself riding a horse in circles while the others galloped off to Isengard, and I started laughing.

"Come, you can ride with me, Michela. I believe that Gimli and Legolas wanted to ride together, seeing as they have made up after their recent argument about scoring," Boromir said.

Huh? Legolas and I weren't riding together? Oh well, maybe he and Gimli just wanted some quality bonding time. I inwardly shrugged and hopped over to Dyrstig.

"So who won?" I asked, smiling. I was kind of bummed that I had missed out on that conversation, even though I knew who won. …Or at least, who they thought had won.

"I did, lassie. It was forty-two to forty-three, although the princeling here tried to get another point," Gimli said sounding quite smug.

"Oh really?" I turned to Legolas, who was frowning.

"I maintain that he was twitching, and that therefore we are _tied_."

"Hmm, forty-three, you say? That's not bad for a blundering, axe-swinging dwarf," I matched Gimli's smug tone, teasing him the same way he had teased Legolas.

"What was your final count, then?" Aragorn asked, smiling. I was glad to see that Gimli looked slightly worried.

"Forty-eight," I announced, smiling when Gimli's face fell. Legolas, however, was beaming.

"At least one of us secured a victory." He smiled at me, and I stared back, ogling him, perhaps taking a bit too long to do something.

"Well, lad, you got beaten by a girl," Gimli shot back, trying to gain the upper hand.

"I believe that you did, as well, Master Dwarf," Boromir said.

"Is that something to be ashamed of?" I asked, planting one hand on my hip.

Gimli hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, of course not! I just meant…well…" I chuckled as he tried to retract his words. I knew he didn't mean anything by them.

"It is time for us to head out," Aragorn said, even though he, too, was chuckling slightly.

"Okay. Help?" I asked, looking up at Boromir. He pulled me up behind him, careful not to jostle my ankle. I put my crutch across my lap, not having anywhere else to put it.

We all trotted out of the stables and into the courtyard. Theoden, Gandalf, and Eomer were heading towards the stables, talking fervently about something. They emerged a few minutes later, all on horses.

We rode out of the fortress and up a hill that looked east, to Mordor. Black clouds hung threateningly over a red glow on the horizon, and I shuddered slightly. It was so real. But then again, all of this was real.

"Sauron's wrath will be terrible, his retribution swift," Gandalf told us. "The Battle of Helms Deep is over; the battle for Middle Earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits…somewhere in the wilderness." I sighed as I thought about Frodo and Sam, who were at that very moment leaving Osgiliath with Gollum, heading for Minas Morgul.

"Are you ready, Michela?" Boromir asked as the others slowly went forward.

"Yup!" I said, shoving my morbid thoughts to the back of my mind. "Let's bounce, bitches!" Theoden and many of the Riders turned around and glared at me. "Um – I mean…your majesty…" I bowed my head, trying to look penitent. I could practically hear Boromir rolling his eyes. Looking over at Gimli, I saw that he was shaking slightly with restrained laughter at the king's reaction.

I decided to not say anything for a while after that. Pretty soon, we all got going at a gallop, and I started to daydream. It may or may not have involved a certain elf in the party. I looked over at him, wondering again why we weren't riding together. There was nothing wrong with him wanting to spend time with Gimli, I had just expected that we would be together. I had no answer, so I went back to my daydream.

After a while, when the sun was high in the sky, we stopped for lunch and to let the horses have a break. It wasn't very long, though, and after only a few minutes, we were back on the horses, going at full speed again. We didn't stop until it was dark.

"Oh, my ass is never going to be the same," I groaned as Boromir helped me down from Dyrstig and handed me my crutch.

"I am sure you will recover," he said, laughing.

We proceeded to set up camp, laying out bedrolls and starting a fire. I offered to help with the cooking since I was fairly immobilized by the crutch. One of the Riders joined me, greeting me with a polite "my lady," and we sat and cut up veggies together. True bonding right there.

After a few minutes, I looked up at him. He seemed vaguely familiar; I thought on it for a minute before remembering. He was Garwine, whom I had met at the dinner in Edoras.

"Lord Garwine?" I asked. He looked up, startled.

"Do I know you, my lady?"

"We met in Edoras; I only just recognized you. I'm Michela."

"Oh, I remember now! Forgive me, Lady Michela, I had forgotten you." He was smiling at me now that he knew me.

"It's fine! I'm glad to see that you made it, you know, in the battle and all." He had a black eye, and I could see multiple cuts on his hands and a gash on his neck, but he was certainly alive and able to walk.

"And you as well, although you seem to be unable to walk," Garwine said, casting a glance at my ankle.

"Yeah, I broke my ankle jumping off the wall. Not the best idea, but it was the only way out."

"Out of what, my lady?" He seemed genuinely interested, so I told him what had happened. It was kind of exciting, telling my first battle story! I felt so accomplished! By the time I had finished, we were done chopping the veggies, so we put them in a pot and let them stew for a while, just chilling. The horses had been tended to by then, as well, so the Riders and everyone else had come to sit around or near the fire.

Dinner was served, and we all ate before turning in. I had only gotten a few hours of sleep in the morning, and the others had had less, so we were all pretty cool with an early bedtime. I figured we would have to be up nice and early tomorrow, anyway.

I was in Lothlorien, walking through the trees, looking around at the birds that sang and the golden flowers that were blossoming on the silver branches.

Needless to say, I had had quite enough of this damned forest, at least in my dreams. The last time I had had this dream, I had seen Legolas dead. Not fun.

"Michela." There it was. The voice. It was the same, but it was different. It wasn't calling to me, it was commanding me, telling me to come. No matter how much I didn't want to come, no matter how much I tried to resist, my legs carried me through the trees, following the voice.

After a few minutes, in which I had achieved nothing in struggling against the call of the voice, I came to a clearing similar to the one Galadriel's mirror was in. There was a pedestal in the middle, but instead of a basin, this one had a round black stone.

"Michela." The voice was coming from the stone. Again, it was telling me to come closer. I tried to struggle, knowing exactly what that stone was, and knowing that I certainly did not want to look into it like I was being told to do.

My attempts were fruitless. In a matter of seconds, I found myself staring into the palantir. My heartbeat quickened, and my breathing became jagged as I tried to stop myself as I leant over, looking down into the depths of the stone.

"Michela." I peered into it, and for a moment I didn't see anything. Eventually, shapes started to form, fuzzy at first, but then they grew clearer.

I gasped as I saw that it was Legolas, and he wasn't alone. There was a girl with him, and elf, I saw, as he brushed her hair back from her pointed ear. What? Why was he doing that? Who was she? After a minute, I saw that she looked incredibly similar to me, only slightly different and with much longer hair. Was it Nidiriel?

More shapes started to form, seeming to run toward the couple. As they grew closer, I saw that they were orcs. They grabbed Nidiriel, carrying her away into darkness, and Legolas dissolved, vanishing from sight.

The orcs grew even clearer, as if they were standing right in front of me. With a start, I realized that they were. The palantir and the clearing had vanished, and I stood where Legolas and Nidiriel had stood. The orcs surrounded me, their crude weapons glinting as they waved them around.

I was helpless; I had no weapons, no way to defend myself. They ran at me, closing the already short distance between us. I screamed as I felt their weapons tearing into me, as I heard them laughing in delight.

I struggled, trying to get away from the orcs, squirming around and kicking. One of my legs was being pinned down, but my other leg connected with something, and I heard a grunt of pain.

"Michela!" I paused as I realized the voice was different, not orcish at all. "Michela, stop!"

"Aragorn?" He was the one holding my right leg down, making sure I didn't hurt my ankle. I looked around and realized that I was awake, on the way to Isengard. There weren't any orcs around, or at least they weren't attacking me if they were.

I sat up, untangling my blanket from around myself as I did so. Gandalf stood next to me, watching us, and Legolas was kneeling on my other side, massaging his stomach. I guess I kicked him, then. Oops…

"You are safe, we are with you," Aragorn explained, releasing my leg when he saw that I was no longer a danger.

"Sorry, guys, just a nightmare," I said so that only the three of them could hear. A few of theRiders closer to us had apparently been woken and were looking at us. "Sorry, Legolas."

"It is fine. You did not harm me. Are you well?"

"Yeah, now that I'm awake. I'm fine." I gave them a thumbs-up.

Aragorn and Legolas laid back down on their bedrolls, but Gandalf sat down next to me.

"Was it similar to the ones we discussed earlier?" He was studying me closely, and I got the peculiar feeling of being seen through. I shivered; it was rather unnerving.

"Yes," I whispered. "Except I was looking into a palantir, and then orcs came." Gandalf nodded thoughtfully. I could at least make sense of one part of the dream: the palantir. I knew that I would be seeing it tomorrow, and I supposed that my brain had somehow stuck it into my dreams for that reason.

But what about Nidiriel, or whoever that other elf was? I thought for a minute and was surprised to realize that I felt jealous. Whoever she was, whether she was my former self or not, she and Legolas had apparently been more than just friends.

"Michela, I have nothing to say about your dreams. I fear that only time will tell us what they mean, if we ever do find out. You should try and rest some more; tomorrow would be another long day." Gandalf was looking at me kindly, his eyes twinkling in the night. I nodded and rearranged my blanket on the ground.

"Thanks, Gandalf. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I laid down and closed my eyes, waiting until I heard him move away before turning onto my back. I didn't feel like sleeping, not because I was terrified of the dreams, but because I wanted to think about them more. I felt like there was something about them that I should be able to figure out, but I couldn't piece it together. Frustrated, I turned back onto my side, slamming my fist into the ground. Not the best idea.

I stared holes into a small rock a few feet away from my head as I waited for sleep to take over again. After what seemed like hours, my eyes finally slid closed again, and I drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

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**Interesting...What could that possibly mean? I know! mwahahaha! Please review and tell me what you thought!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey guys! I'm really sorry about the super long delay; I had a really bad writer's block. But here's another chapter yay! Thank you to snoozinghamster, Saphira, brave11, and NaruVamp for reviewing and to everyone who's favorited and/or followed! I hope you like this chapter!**

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The walls of Isengard loomed up before us, broken and crumbling. I smiled as I saw that the Ents had done their work well. Théoden stopped, halting our procession down the road that led to Isengard. Gandalf rode up next to him, and the two exchanged words for a moment. With a nod, Théoden moved on, and we followed him through the wrecked and twisted gates of the wall that surrounded the valley.

I twisted around behind Boromir, looking for Merry and Pippin, who I knew would be close by. I was not disappointed: a laugh echoed around the wall, and, turning towards it, I saw two small figures perched on top of a ruined building.

"Is that…?" Boromir trailed off, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.

"Yup! Merry and Pippin!" I answered, smiling. Seeing the hobbits again had made my mood considerably lighter: after waking up (early), we had departed from our camp almost immediately. Legolas and Gimli had ridden together again, and, with that added to my dream last night and thoughts of what it might mean, I hadn't been in the best of moods.

We had by that point almost come to the base of the structure the two hobbits were sitting on. Merry stood, swaying drunkenly, his pipe clutched in his hand. Pippin was seated next to him, and he raised his mug in greeting, laughing.

"Welcome, my lords, to Isengard!" Merry greeted us, swaying even more as he pointed behind him to the tall, menacing tower in which Saruman resided.

"You young rascals!" Gimli was less than amused. "A merry hunt you've led us on, and now we find you feasting and…and smoking!"

At that, Pippin leaned forward to correct the dwarf. "We are sitting on a field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts." He paused to take a bite out of what looked like jerky. "The salted pork is particularly good."

"Salted pork?" Gimli's tone of voice immediately changed, and I looked over to see him staring openmouthed at the hobbits.

Gandalf muttered to himself as he shook his head, and Boromir nudged Dyrstig forward a few feet.

"It is obvious what this victory is that you speak of, but I would know how it came about, for surely two hobbits, even two as brave as yourselves, could not destroy the Wizard's Vale on their own."

"We do not have time for the full story now; although no doubt it is a thrilling tale to hear. It will soon become apparent, at least in part, how this fortress was stormed." Gandalf said as Merry opened his mouth to enlighten us. "Come, Meriadoc, Peregrin, I must speak with Treebeard. Where is he?"

The hobbits hopped down from their perch and were helped onto horses; Merry went behind Éomer, and Pippin went behind Aragorn. Once everyone was settled, the two of them pointed the way to Treebeard, and we went off in search of the Ent. Gandalf, Éomer, Merry, and Théoden went in the front, followed by Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Aragorn, Pippin, and I. The guards who had accompanied us were in the back.

"What is this Treebeard that Gandalf spoke of?" Boromir asked over his shoulder as we made our way through the water around Orthanc.

"Who, not what," I answered. "You'll see soon enough." I was eager to get my first glimpse of an Ent. Treebeard's tracks in Fangorn had certainly been huge, but how tall was he in real life?

We found him on the north side of the valley, talking to two more Ents in their language. It sounded like thunder, low and rumbling through the air, but it was gentler. He turned around once the other Ents started walking off and saw us coming toward him. I felt Boromir stiffen in front of me.

"What is that?" he whispered.

"It is an Ent, a shepherd of the great forests," Legolas said softly. I looked over at him and saw that he was staring at Treebeard in awe, as if he had walked into a fairytale. With a touch of amusement, I wondered if that was what I had looked like upon discovering that the Fellowship of the Ring was standing in my living room.

"Young master Gandalf, I'm _hmmmm_ glad you've come." He spoke slowly, as if he was thinking about each word before he said it, and even then, he wasn't in a rush to get it out. "Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there is…_hoom_ …a Wizard to manage here, locked in his tower." We all looked up at Orthanc, sticking straight into the sky like a needle, a very evil needle. With a slight twist of my stomach, I realized that a large spiked wheel stood at the base. That part was going to be fun.

"Show yourself," Aragorn whispered. He was squinting up at the tower, waiting for Saruman to come forth.

"Be careful. Even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous," Gandalf warned us from the front.

"Well, let's just have his head and be done with it," Gimli suggested, reaching for one of the axes strapped across his back.

"No." Gandalf stopped him. "We need him alive. We need him to talk."

At that moment, a voice boomed out from the top of the tower, filling the air with its sound. The voice was nice to hear: smooth and sweet like honey, yet the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I shifted uneasily in the saddle. Something about it wasn't right.

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King, and made peace afterwards. Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?" Saruman stepped forward to reveal himself at the top of the tower, leaning on his staff and looking down at us.

After a moment Théoden responded. He looked like he was struggling with something, but then he spoke up. "We shall have peace." Pretty much everyone looked at him like he had gone mad. "We shall have peace," he continued, "when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace." Although his voice had started out quiet and slightly shaky, by the time Théoden finished, he was glaring at the wizard, and his voice was strong and forbidding. Even though I didn't like the guy too much, I had to admit that he had put Saruman in his place, at least regarding Rohan.

Seeing this, the wizard switched tactics. "Gibbets and crows? Dotard! What do you want, Gandalf Greyhame? Let me guess: the Key of Orthanc, or perhaps the Keys of Barad-dur itself, along with the Crowns of the Seven Kings and the Rods of the Five Wizards?!"

"Your treachery has cost many lives. Thousands more are at risk, but you can save them, Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's counsel!" Gandalf remained cool, staring up at Saruman.

"So you have come here for information. I have some for you." Saruman sneered down at us as he lifted from his robes a black sphere: the Palantir of Orthanc. After my nightmare, I had no desire to look at it; I stared resolutely at Boromir's back. "Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth, something that you have failed to see. But the Great Eye has seen it. Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon. You are all going to die." Saruman continued to speak as Gandalf approached the base of Orthanc, and I figured that it was safe to look again. "But you know this, don't you Gandalf? You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile, crept from the shadows, will never become King. He has no honor, coming from the rugged lands of the north, a ruined kingdom."

Before I knew what I was doing, I was opening my mouth to speak. "You're wrong." Saruman paused and his gaze swept over to me.

"What did you say, wench?" His tone was cold and pitiless, but I thought that I could detect some amusement in there somewhere.

Now that I realized what I was actually doing, I didn't want to say anything at all, but I had to say something. Everyone had turned to watch me. Ignoring the insult aimed at me, I tried to form a complete sentence while under the watch of several very important people. "You cannot know that, Saruman. What do you know of honor? You betrayed those who put their trust in you, falling for a lie sown by Sauron. Aragorn is ten times the man you ever were or ever will be, wizard or not."

Saruman's sneer widened, growing colder. "Useless words from a useless girl. You know nothing about that of which you speak. No doubt it seems to you that Gandalf the _White_ is wise beyond reckoning, but he does not hesitate to sacrifice those closest to him, those he professes to love." With one last cold glare at me, Saruman turned back to Gandalf. "Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom? The path that you have set him on can only lead to death."

"I've heard enough," Gimli growled. Leaning over, he whispered to Legolas, "Shoot him. Stick an arrow in his gob." Legolas was reaching for an arrow when Gandalf cut him off.

"No. Come down Saruman, and your life will be spared."

Saruman's eyes flared at this display of pity, and he raised his black staff, pointing it at Gandalf. "Save your pity and your mercy; I have no use for it!" His voice was no longer sweet and smooth: now it was harsh, filled with anger. A ball of fire shot out of his staff at Gandalf, who was enveloped in it. Everyone except me gasped; although, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief when Gandalf and Shadowfax emerged unharmed.

"Saruman, your staff is broken." With a splintering sound, the wizard's staff burst asunder in his hands, and he stared in shock as what remained of his most powerful weapon disintegrated in the air and was blown away by the wind.

Movement behind Saruman caught my eye, and I saw Grima Wormtonge coming up behind him, as pale as ever. Théoden had seen him, too.

"Grima, you need not follow him. You were not always as you are now. You were once a Man of Rohan. Come down," the King called up to his former "advisor." I couldn't help but wonder if being a Man of Rohan meant that Grima would have at least a little bit of a tan.

"A Man of Rohan?" Saruman obviously thought less of the title than everyone else. "What is the house of Rohan but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek and their brats roll on the floor with the dogs? The victory at Helms Deep does not belong to you, Théoden Horse-master. You are a lesser son of greater sires."

Théoden narrowed his eyes but otherwise ignored the many insults thrown his way, addressing Wormtonge once more. "Grima, come down. Be free of him."

"Free? He will never be free!" Saruman stated, managing to sound arrogant and commanding despite the fact that he now had no power.

Grima looked at the wizard, realization growing on his face. "No…" The word was spoken so quietly that I could barely hear it.

Saruman turned and spoke even lower so that I really couldn't hear what was said. However, I could see when he slapped Grima across the face, sending him sprawling across the surface of the tower.

"Saruman!" Gandalf shouted up, distracting him. "You were deep in the enemy's counsel. Tell us what you know!"

Saruman turned his back on Wormtongue to face Gandalf. "You withdraw your guard, and I will tell you where your doom will be decided. I will not be held prisoner here!" Personally, I was of the opinion that he wasn't in any position to be making demands, but I knew that it wouldn't matter either way: Grima was rising to his feet, a dagger clutched in his hand.

He crept up behind the wizard and repeatedly stabbed him in the back. Saruman's cry of surprise reached my ears, as well as the sickening plunging sounds as the knife went in and out. Without any hesitation this time, Legolas pulled an arrow from his quiver and shot it, hitting Grima in the chest. He fell back as Saruman fell forwards, tumbling head over heels off of the tower and onto – you guessed it – the spiked wheel that waited at the base of Orthanc.

I resisted the urge to plug my ears, wincing as Saruman's body was impaled on a spike, causing the wheel to slowly rotate. As it did, the palantir slid out of his sleeve, splashing into the water.

"Send word to all our allies and to every corner of Middle Earth that still stands free: the Enemy moves against us. We need to know where he will strike," Gandalf ordered. Théoden nodded.

Another splash to my right alerted me to Pippin's decision to grab the palantir.

"Pippin!" Aragorn shouted after the hobbit as he waded towards the wheel, which had by this point turned over, completely submerging Saruman's body. Bending over so that his chin almost touched the water, he reached underneath the surface and picked up the palantir, gazing into its depths when he brought it up.

"Bless my bark!" I jumped slightly when Treebeard spoke up; he had remained so still and so silent throughout the entire affair that I had forgotten he was even there.

"Peregrin Took! I'll take that, my lad. Quickly now." Gandalf had urged Shadowfax over to where the hobbit stood waist-deep in the water. Pippin reluctantly raised the palantir for him to get, and the wizard wasted no time in wrapping it up in his robes. When the palantir was safely stowed, he looked back down at the hobbit, concern shadowing his gaze. Pippin looked down at the water, but when Gandalf turned Shadowfax away, his face became more determined, and he stared after the wizard.

The ride to Edoras was fairly uneventful, thankfully. I rode behind Boromir again, but Garwine rode next to us. I was glad that he had been chosen by Théoden to come with us. Most of the guards weren't used to women (even elves) being involved in the affairs of men, but Garwine, having already spoken to me at dinner, was a good deal more open-minded. We weren't best buds or anything – we had only known each other for a couple of days – but he was nice to talk to.

We spent three nights outside, since it was farther to Edoras than Helms Deep. Fortunately my sleep was undisturbed for the duration of the journey.

When we rode through the gates, I was surprised to see that there were a ton of people standing in the streets, waving and cheering at their king, returning victorious from battle. I smiled to see the difference in the people between now and the first time I had ridden up the hill. Looking to Meduseld, I saw that Éowyn stood waiting for us, her hair blowing in the wind.

We finally managed to make it through the cheering crowd and into the stables, where I gratefully dismounted Dyrstig. We had been riding for the better part of three days, and, elf or not, I was stiff and sore.

Leaning on my crutch, I hobbled out of the stables with Boromir, and the two of us made our way up the stairs, meeting up with the others. I had a bit of trouble with the stairs, but I managed to not fall over.

"My lord, I have given orders for a feast to be prepared tomorrow night, in honor of our victory and in remembrance of those whose lives were lost in battle," Éowyn was telling Théoden as Boromir and I approached. The king nodded, smiling at his niece.

"You have done well in leading our people back to Edoras, Éowyn." Théoden inclined his head as Éowyn beamed at his praise. He then turned and walked inside, followed by most of his guards.

"Éomer!" Éowyn turned to her brother once Théoden was inside. The two immediately embraced, having not seen each other for weeks due to Wormtongue's trickery.

"I am glad to see that you are well, sister," Éomer said, releasing her. It was obvious that they were very close, as Éowyn had told me. She nodded, smiling.

"And you, brother." She turned her attention to the rest of us then. "Lord Aragorn, Lord Boromir, Prince Legolas, Master Gimli, Michela, would you like anything to eat? Food has been prepared inside, if you would like some." All of us were hungry, so we filed inside the cool hall, sitting down at the tables along the walls. The hobbits had already made it inside and were sitting together, talking and laughing. In a few minutes, servants brought out food for us, and we all dug in, not talking for a few minutes as we ate.

"What happened at Isengard?" Éowyn asked us eagerly as she sat down next to Aragorn.

"We spoke with Saruman, who no longer lives," Éomer answered her, his voice grim. "He was stabbed by Wormtongue, whom Legolas shot. Even if the wizard had survived, I doubt that he would have helped us."

"So there is no news, nothing that you learned?"

"We did not learn anything about the movements of the Enemy, no." It was Aragorn who answered this time. "We did, however, meet our companions, who were captured by Uruk-hai." He gestured down the table to Merry and Pippin, who had not made a sound throughout the conversation, being entirely focused on the food in front of them. "Lady Éowyn, meet Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took of the Shire."

At the sound of their names, the hobbits looked up. "Yes?" Merry said after swallowing his mouthful.

"Merry, Pippin, this is Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan." Both hobbits bowed their heads, smiling.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady," Merry said. Pippin repeated the sentiment, smiling.

Éowyn smiled back. "I have heard only stories of Halflings; I must say that I did not think them to be true. Tell me, where is it that you come from? Where is the Shire?" This question got the hobbits talking about their home, and we all listened to them as they eagerly told tale after tale of their various escapades and which hobbit had done what at which party or other such event.

The talk eventually died down, and people started to disperse, wandering off to the stables or their rooms. I decided that it was high time for a nap, so I hobbled down the hall to my room, which Éowyn had had tended to in my absence. I didn't bother changing, only taking off my boots before gratefully laying down on the bed and closing my eyes.

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**Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Hey guys! I know it was a really long wait again and I'm really sorry! Life just got busier, since I've started working along with school, so updates won't be incredibly frequent, but I will do my absolute best to ensure that they aren't few and far between. Thank you so much to SaphiralovesTolkien, LOTR-POTC-SherlockLuvr, Hobbitfromtheshire, Mystic Archer Horse, and Brave11 for reviewing! Y'all's reviews make my day! And a huge thank you to everyone who's favorited/followed and to all of you who read this story and have stuck with it so far!**

**Quick note before you read: In the last chapter, they only spent one night outside on the way to Edoras from Isengard; I've changed that to three nights to fit with the timing in this chapter. I also realized that it would take them longer to get to Edoras from Isengard than to Isengard from Helms Deep. (It also gives Michela a little more of a time cushion in which her ankle can heal before the Battle of the Pelennor.)**

**I hope you like the chapter!**

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"You are ready, my lady," Freda said, putting the finishing touches on my hair. It was the night of the feast, and everybody was looking forward to it.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My dress was burgundy with off-white trim at the waist, sleeves, neckline, and hem. It was the fanciest thing I had ever worn, with a corset that made it slightly difficult to breathe. Eowyn had informed me when she showed me the dress that since this was a very special occasion we would all need to look our best. I grimaced as I recalled what she had said after that: "Besides, I would love to see the look on your elf's face when he sees you in such a stunning gown." The truth was I wasn't really sure what was going on between Legolas and I. Since the Battle of Helm's Deep, he had avoided me, riding with Gimli and practicing at the archery range, where I couldn't go, courtesy of my ankle. We had spoken with each other – he wasn't being _rude_ – it was just different, and I didn't know why.

"Is something wrong, my lady?" Freda asked nervously, seeing my expression.

"Oh, no! I was just thinking about something…You've done a wonderful job; thank you, Freda," I reassured her, shoving the unhappy thoughts to the back of my mind. She really had, even with my shorter hair. Half of it was pinned back, showing off my pointed ears, two braids running from my face to meet at the back of my head. A small golden circlet sat on my head with a garnet winking in the center.

"Do you require anything else, my lady?" Although I had asked her many times to just call me Michela, Freda insisted on sticking with the title, so I had eventually abandoned my efforts.

"Yes, Freda, thank you. You can go get ready if you want. Can you just hand me my crutches real quick?" She walked over to the wall against which the crutches were leaning and brought them to me. It had been six days since the Battle of Helms Deep, in which I had broken my ankle. According to Aragorn, I would be able to start putting weight on it in a day or two, something that I was immensely looking forward to, seeing as the Battle of the Pelennor was coming up soon, and I had every intention of fighting in it.

"Here, my lady."

"Thank you, Freda. Now, go get ready!" I smiled at her, and she smiled back and curtsied before slipping out of my room. Everyone was going to be in the main hall tonight, partying and drinking and – the drinking scene! I smiled as I thought of it. That was something I most certainly was not going to miss: an elf drinking a dwarf under the table.

Smiling, I hobbled out of my room in search of Eowyn, not sure if I should go to the main hall yet or not.

"Come in," Eowyn called out when I knocked on her door, and I opened it. My jaw dropped when I saw her: she was wearing a light blue dress with golden trim that fit her very well and made her hair seem to shine brighter than usual.

"Eowyn, you look absolutely beautiful!" She beamed at my praise and then gestured to me.

"As do you; you look gorgeous! I'm glad that dress fit you!"

At that I grimaced, rubbing my stomach. "The corset is incredibly tight. Are you sure it's supposed to be suffocating me?" She just laughed.

"Have you never worn a corset before?" When I shook my head, she said, "Oh, do not worry; you'll get used to it soon." Eowyn glanced at herself in the mirror, checking that she hadn't missed anything, before turning back to me. "Are you ready to go? The feast will start soon, and we do not want to be late!"

"Yup! Let's go!" We left the room in a hurry and walked down the hall, our heels (and my crutches) clomping on the wooden flooring. As much as I preferred breeches to a dress while fighting or riding (Come on, who doesn't?), it felt really good to be in a dress and heels and doing girly things. I had helped out in the kitchens, kneading dough and making bread, for the first half of the day, but after lunch Eowyn had whisked me off to my room for a bath. Once she made sure that I was following orders, she had gone off for her own, and the rest of the day had been spent scrubbing the dirt off of my body and out of my hair, brushing my hair, and lacing myself up (with the help of Freda) into the corset.

The sound of talk and laughter grew louder the closer we got to the hall, and I smiled. This was going to be one hell of a night.

"Sister!" Eomer greeted Eowyn as the two of us walked in, beckoning for her to join him where he stood with Theoden. I tagged along and bowed my head (being unable to curtsy with crutches) to the King of Rohan and his nephew. "Lady Michela, it is good to see you also."

"Thank you, Lord Eomer; I am glad to be here." I turned to Theoden. "And I am honored to be your guest once more, Theoden King."

He bowed his head politely, although his expression was somewhat cold and his voice stiff as he said, "It is my pleasure."

Having greeted my hosts, I went off in search of Aragorn and the others, making my way through the crowd of people as best I could. Gimli and Boromir already had mugs in their hand, laughing as they spoke to Gamling, who was also drinking. Aragorn and Legolas were standing off to the side of the group, conversing quietly by one of the many columns that lined the main hall.

"Hey, guys." I leaned my crutches up against the pillar and followed suit.

"Hello, Michela." Aragorn smiled at me. "You look lovely." Legolas nodded, glancing at me before looking away.

"Hello," he muttered, not meeting my eyes.

"Thanks, Aragorn," I said, puzzled by Legolas' reaction.

Before any of us could say anything else, Theoden's voice rose over the crowd.

"My lords and ladies, let us gather a moment before the feast begins!" The people started moving around the tables that had been set up in the hall, finding their seats. Legolas walked ahead of us, sitting down between Gimli and Boromir. Aragorn led me to the table, sitting down between myself and Gamling.

Theoden stood on the dais, in front of his throne, flanked by Eomer and Eowyn. The latter stepped forward, a cup in her hands, and offered it to Theoden. He took it and raised it up in front of him. Everyone in the hall stood, holding a mug in their hands. I grabbed mine, knowing that I'd have to drink from it. I repressed a sigh, remembering all too clearly the unexpected taste of ale.

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!" Theoden raised the goblet higher, and all of us did the same with our own.

"Hail!" we all said as one before taking a drink. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the drink in my mug wasn't ale; it was less bitter, although certainly still alcoholic. I guessed it to be mead.

Theoden lowered the goblet, and Eowyn stepped forward to take it from him. The people forgot their solemnity, and slowly the hall grew louder as they all settled down for a night of eating, drinking, and laughing. Aragorn slipped off into the crowd, so I trailed after Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli, who were making their way to a table around which most of the men were gathered.

I smiled as I saw that it was where the drinking contest was to be held. Gimli marched forward, dragging Legolas with him. Boromir stayed back, watching with a smile on his face as the elf was loudly challenged to a drinking game.

"No pauses, no spills," Eomer explained, handing a brimming mug to each of the competitors.

"And no regurgitation," Gimli added wickedly, accepting the mug from Eomer.

"Are you not going to join?" I asked Boromir, wondering how it would turn out if he did.

"No, I do not wish to be humiliated. It is well known that the wine of the elves is incredibly potent, and I would not dare challenge a dwarf in such a manner: their reputation in such contests precedes them."

"Smart choice," I said, grinning as Legolas posed a question concerning the nature of the contest.

"Last one standing wins!" Gimli chuckled before diving into his mug. Legolas hesitated, cautiously sniffing his drink before sipping at it. By the time he had finished his first mug, Gimli was halfway through his second and showing no signs of slowing.

The men around us were shouting, drinking, and laughing; mugs were being thrust into the air, their contents slopping precariously, some sloshing over. I stood close to Boromir as I watched the drinking contest, not wanting to get anything on my dress.

"I think that this will take a while to finish up," Boromir said when Gimli was well into the double digits, emptied mugs spread across the table where he sat. One was even rolling around on the floor.

"Yeah, it will, but there's no way I'd miss it." And there certainly wasn't.

Gimli took a break from his drinking to chuckle wickedly. "It's the dwarves that go swimming with little hairy women!" His words were slurred, and he swayed in his seat as he reached for another mug from Eomer.

"I feel something." I looked over at Legolas as he spoke up, a smile tugging at my mouth. "A slight tingle in my fingers. I think it's affecting me." The elf was staring at his hand, seeming to be perplexed by something. Boromir was shaking beside me with silent laughter, and Gimli didn't bother hiding his.

"What did I say? He can't hold his liquor…" The dwarf promptly fell over backwards, hitting the floor with a loud _thump_.

"Game over," Legolas stated, shrugging.

"Well done, my friend," Boromir said, walking over and clapping the elf on the back. I giggled when he swayed a little, the alcohol making him unsteady. "I had not thought to see the day when an elf would defeat a dwarf in such a contest!"

"At least I was able to beat him; my loss at Helms Deep was most humiliating, and he always grasps at the chance to mention it. Now I shall have something to hold over his head!"

"I hope you won't forget that I beat both of you," I said sternly, walking forward to join them. Legolas turned to look at me, and I was surprised to see that he didn't look incredibly happy to see me.

"Of course not, Michela." He hid his unease as he bowed slightly, swaying a little as he rose.

"Good." I smiled and looked back at the crowd. There were tons of people dancing in the center of the hall, laughing and spinning around.

"Would you like to dance?" Boromir asked, holding his arm out.

I shook my head. "I can't; I've got a day left on these crutches, and if Aragorn sees me without them, he will be far from happy."

Boromir nodded and turned to say something to Legolas, but the elf wasn't there.

"Where'd he go?" I asked, turning to look for him. It didn't help that eighty percent of the people in the hall had blonde hair similar to his. Boromir, even from his height, couldn't find him either.

"It is possible that he went outside for some air. Or maybe he went to get another drink?" I shrugged, willing to put the elf from my mind for the rest of the night – at least until Boromir said, "You know, I've noticed that he's been avoiding you for a few days now. Is something wrong with you two?"

"I don't know…" I said, confused and a little hurt. It hadn't just been my imagination, then: Legolas really was avoiding me. But why? "I haven't done anything that I think would make him particularly angry with me, and I don't think he'd hold a grudge like this, at least not without telling me what's wrong."

"I do not know, either. Perhaps you should go talk to him." I thought about that for a second. Was it worth it? Would he just leave, like he had just now? But if I didn't do anything, who knew how long he would avoid me?

"Yeah, I guess I'll go find him," I said after a minute or two.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Boromir asked.

"Nah. But thanks. I'll see you later." He nodded and I turned around and crutched my way to the doors of the hall, which two of the guards opened for me. I thanked them and stepped outside, immediately regretting my lack of cloak as the cold wind tore through my gown.

I looked around and saw Legolas standing at the corner of Meduseld, just like in the movie. His hood was pulled up, and he was standing, staring out at the land. There was no doubt that he had heard me – my crutches made way too much noise to go unnoticed by almost anyone – but he didn't move.

"Legolas?" Nothing. I slowly walked over to him, my crutches devastatingly loud in the silence that surrounded us. I repeated myself when I was standing by him, and he turned his head to look at me.

"Michela." He nodded at me and turned back to staring at the rolling land that stretched out from Edoras.

"What's wrong? Did I do something? Why have you been avoiding me?" I tried not to sound too accusing in that last bit, but I'm not sure that I entirely succeeded.

"It is for the best." Legolas' voice was cold.

"What do you mean 'the best?'" I was completely confused and not a little concerned.

He sighed and stared at the ground. "Michela…I cannot…I know that I may have made it seem…that we could be together…that I thought of you in that manner…but it cannot happen. I cannot…love…you."

I did nothing. I just stared at him, not seeing anything, not hearing anything, not even feeling the cold wind whip through my hair. What had he just said? Was he talking to me?

"Michela…" Legolas' voice tore me from my jumbled thoughts. "Please know that I think of you with the utmost respect, and that is why I must-"

"Must?" I cut him off. "_Must_? What _must_ you do, Legolas? Why can you _not_ do this – whatever _this_ is?" He opened his mouth to speak. "Are you saying that, after hinting at it and acting like you liked me (at least based off of what I could tell), you actually don't-"

"Michela, it cannot happen; I am sorry." He cut me off that time, and now his voice was quiet and vaguely sorrowful. "I am – I…was pledged to another. It would not be fair to you, to continue this."

"It wouldn't be fair to me," I muttered, dumbstruck. "You mean it has only now occurred to you that it wouldn't be fair to lead me on, like you have been for a month? You mean that what you've already done _was_ fair? I thought – never mind what I thought. I was obviously wrong."

With that I turned away and, with as much dignity as I could muster, hobbled back into Meduseld, more than a little hurt when Legolas didn't call me back, but remained silent. Upon entering the hall, I was overwhelmed with noise: laughter, singing, shouts that rose above the general clamor. Everyone was so happy.

I stood there by the doors for a minute, struggling to process what exactly had just happened. Legolas had told me…what had he told me? That it wouldn't be fair to me. He was pledged to another. _Who?_

"Michela!" Boromir's shout brought me back to awareness. I looked over and saw him making his way through the crowd towards me, but I didn't want to talk to him. I didn't want to have to explain how foolish I had been to think that Legolas would actually fall in love with me. Tears filled my eyes, and I turned and walked in the opposite direction as fast as I could, but, hindered as I was by both the crowd and my crutches, Boromir caught up with me.

"Michela, where are you going?" He put his hand on my shoulder and gently spun me around to face him. The smile on his face immediately fell when he saw me. "What happened? What did he do? Michela?"

I opened my mouth – to say what, I have no idea – but closed it and wrenched myself out of his grip. I started making my way to the wall: there were less people, and I would be able to slip out of the hall practically unnoticed once I got to the passage. But Boromir wouldn't give up.

"Michela, wait!" He caught me again.

"Leave me alone!" I managed to say something that time, and again I started walking. Boromir got the message. He let me go, and as I reached the passage leading out of the hall, a tear rolled down my cheek.

I felt betrayed. Betrayed by Legolas, although I should have known better. I should have known better than to think that it would ever work out. I shouldn't have thought that he liked me. He never told me so, only hinted, and vaguely, at that. If it even was a hint.

Another tear escaped, but I was alone in the passage, with nobody to see me. I just had to keep myself together until I got to my room. _Get a grip_, I angrily told myself. _It's nothing. He shouldn't matter to you. Why are you this upset?_

I told myself that I had no reason to be so upset, so devastated, but I knew that it was because I had had hope that he really would like me.

I was at my door. With shaking hands, I twisted the knob and pushed it open. A candle was burning on my bedside table, just as it had been when I had left the room a few hours ago to find Eowyn. Although I hadn't been perfectly happy with Legolas then, at least I hadn't known that he didn't want me. At least I hadn't known that he was in love with somebody else.

More tears spilled down my cheeks as I shut the door and stumbled to the bed, collapsing on it. I sobbed as I crawled under the blanket and pulled it over myself. My sobs soon turned to gasps, however, due to the corset that was still tied tightly around my torso. I reached back and yanked at the laces, desperate to get it off. All my efforts came to naught, so after a few minutes of struggling, I just gave up.

I still couldn't believe it. Legolas was in love with somebody else. I froze as I remembered what I had seen in the palantir in my dream a few nights ago. Legolas had been with someone else, and they had obviously been more than just friends. I had thought that she was Nidiriel; was that who he was in love with, then? Did he love Nidiriel?

I sat up and shoved the blanket away from me, and I was about to go outside and figure out who exactly Legolas was in love with when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. One of the braids on the side of my head was coming undone, strands of hair sticking straight out. My circlet was lopsided, my dress was crumpled, and my eyes and face were red and puffy from crying. If I went back outside, everyone would know that something was wrong. That Boromir knew was enough. It would be better if I just stayed in my room.

I sighed and kicked my shoes off, watching indifferently as they bounced across the floor, landing a few feet away from the door. Calmer this time, I managed to undo the laces on my dress and corset, barely seeing them as they both crumpled to the floor. The circlet went on my bedside table, and then I wrapped myself up in a blanket and gave myself up to sleep.

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**SO plot twist mwahaha I feel so evil! Please please review and let me know what you think! The more y'all review, the more I want to write!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Hey guys! I was feeling particularly inspired (also it's fall break :D), so I was able to get this chapter out really fast! Thank you soooooo much to otakuchamasherlockluvr, SaphiralovesTolkien, Maethoriel Artemis, LOTR-POTC-SherlockLuvr, Hobbitfromtheshire,1Corinthians 1313, and Elf sister for reviewing! I know, I feel kind of bad (but also wonderfully evil) for what happened last chapter, and yes, I do have a plan. I'm not giving anything away, but there is a plan.**

**This is a pretty busy chapter, and things start to happen, especially concerning Boromir and him being, you know, ****_alive_****. So yay, enjoy!**

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I woke up to the sounds of muffled shouts that were coming from the main hall. The voices were shrill; I turned over and pulled my blanket over my head in an effort to block them out, but as soon as I did that, I heard deeper voices. Feeling like I'd forgotten something, I sat up. What was happening? I got out of bed and immediately stepped on something soft. Looking down, I saw the dress that I had worn earlier to the feast.

Suddenly, I remembered everything that had happened: the drinking game, the noise, Boromir suggesting that I talk to _him_, and then _him_ telling me that…he loved someone else. I sank back down onto the bed, burying my face in my hands. _Why? Who?_ I was devastated.

The noise in the hall died down, reminding me that something was going on. Stepping over the dress, I grabbed my cloak from the back of my chair to wrap around myself: I was hardly decent, wearing a thin shift/petticoat that had served as little more than a barrier between my skin and the corset. I had neglected to change into anything else before going to bed, but I didn't want to do so now – I wanted to see what was happening.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I hurriedly walked towards the hall, still feeling like I was forgetting something, something important. But what was it?

The sight that met my eyes when I walked into the hall immediately reminded me of exactly what I had forgotten: the palantír. Pippin was laying on the floor, staring unseeing at the ceiling; Gandalf was leaning over him; Merry was sitting right next to his friend; and Boromir, Aragorn and…_him_ were standing to the side, watching. I stood in the shadows of the passage, unsure of whether I wanted my presence to be known or not. Unfortunately, that choice wasn't left to me: I shifted to lean against the wall, and one of the floorboards on which I was standing creaked. Boromir, Aragorn, and _him_ twisted around to see who it was, so I stepped forward, knowing that it was no use hiding.

"Pippin looked into the palantír while everyone else was sleeping," Aragorn informed me. "We do not yet know what he saw, or what he may have revealed to the Enemy." I nodded and stepped forward to stand beside Boromir (he was the farthest away from _him_), who looked at me questioningly, no doubt wondering about what had happened during the feast. I ignored him and turned my attention to Pippin, waiting for him to show some sign of life.

At last, he did, suddenly gasping for air.

"Look at me," Gandalf commanded, resting his hand on Pippin's forehead.

"Gandalf…forgive me," the hobbit whispered, closing his eyes and shrinking away from the wizard.

"Look at me," he repeated, and Pippin did so, albeit reluctantly. "What did you see?"

Pippin stared at Gandalf for a few seconds without saying anything, but eventually he spoke. "A tree. There was a white tree in a courtyard of stone. It was dead." Boromir leaned forward beside me, but he remained silent, waiting for the hobbit to keep talking. "The city was burning." At that, Boromir stiffened, and was probably about to speak, but Gandalf beat him to the punch.

"Minas Tirith? Is that what you saw?" the wizard's voice was urgent; he pressed the hobbit anxiously for news.

"I saw…I saw – him! I could hear his voice inside my head!"

"And what did you tell him? Speak!"

"He asked me my name. I didn't answer. He hurt me," was Pippin's frightened response. I clenched my jaw at the thought of someone hurting Pippin, who, even though he was older than me, seemed so young and innocent.

"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?"

Pippin closed his eyes and shook his head slightly before opening them and whispering, barely loud enough to hear, "Nothing."

Gandalf sat back on his heels and looked up at the rest of us. Merry immediately started chastising Pippin as he helped him to sit up.

"Théoden must know of this news. We must decide what to do today," he told us quietly.

"What time is it?" I asked, my voice slightly raspy from sleep and the crying I had done prior to it. I knew that it was "not yet dawn," but I wanted the specifics.

"We have perhaps an hour until the sun rises," Boromir said. Gandalf nodded.

"I shall alert the king to this as soon as he is awake. I must begin making preparations; do what you will until dawn," he said before standing, grabbing his cloak and staff from his cot on the floor, and rushing out of the hall and into the night.

Boromir looked like he wanted to follow Gandalf; no doubt he desired to know more about what would befall Minas Tirith, but he stayed back. Aragorn crept over to the hobbits, and I turned to go back to my rooms to change into regular clothes: I wasn't going to be able to get any more sleep before morning.

When I came back into the hall, wearing a tunic and breeches once more, I sat down next to Boromir at the base of a pillar, resolutely ignoring _him_ as he walked by to wake Gimli. I had decided while changing that I was not going to moon over what I couldn't have. I wasn't going to stare at him as he walked by, or think about his hair, or his smile, or about how his eyes glistened when he lau – dammit, this was going to be hard. I rubbed my eyes angrily, trying to shove away the tears that had collected.

I looked over at Boromir as he sighed, his lips clamped together so that they were white.

"You're worried about Minas Tirith." It wasn't a question.

"And my father and my brother." His voice was quiet, but the emotion in it echoed in my ears. "They are honorable men, and strong, and I know that they will do whatever they must to protect our land, but I worry for them. I wish I could be there with them; I wish I could stand by them." I had no idea what to say. I had no idea how Boromir's survival would impact what would happen in Gondor. For a moment, panic overwhelmed me, mixing with the sorrow and confusion from last night. How could I have been so _stupid_? Why had I saved Boromir? Would it have been better to have let him die, as terrible as it would have been to deal with?

"I will do whatever it takes to save Gondor, my land, my people, my home, Michela. I must." His voice had hardened, and it helped me to realize that I, too, would do what was necessary to make sure that Sauron fell and that everything turned out as it should. I would fight to save Middle-earth, to make sure that Boromir's life did not prove disastrous.

"I know you will," I said, my voice stronger than I had thought, and fortunately no longer raspy. "And I will, too."

"I am glad to hear that." I jumped when I heard Aragorn's voice above me. "But in the meantime I would like to know why you are walking around without your crutches. Although it has been a week – barely – I need to check your ankle before you abandon the crutches, and if you start walking on it normally immediately after it is healed, you will damage it."

I had completely forgotten about my crutches due to the need to see what was happening in the hall and my current emotional state, which was none too stable. I told Aragorn, omitting the emotions part, and he crouched down to examine it.

"You may start to put more weight on your ankle, but not all at once, and if it starts to hurt, you are too lessen the weight on it immediately, do you understand?" He looked at me sternly, and I nodded, far from eager to disobey.

"Thanks, Aragorn," I said, smiling. It didn't entirely work, but I think he got the gist of what my face was trying to do.

"You are welcome," he said, smiling (properly) as he stood. "Boromir, please do not let her walk on her own until she has her crutches once more." The other man nodded, smiling slightly at my expression.

When Aragorn left, however, his face fell. "Michela, I know something happened last night, and whatever it was, it obviously has caused you great distress." I opened my mouth to tell him to stop, that I didn't want to talk about it, but he put a finger to my lips. "I am not going to ask you to tell me if you do not want to, but I want you to know that you are welcome to if you feel like it would help." I closed my mouth and nodded, tears filling my eyes _yet_ _again._

"Thank you," I whispered, not trusting my voice to not crack. He smiled and put his arm around me, pulling me against him in an awkward sitting side-hug.

"Am I correct in assuming that you would like to walk on your own as soon as possible?" he asked, pulling back. I nodded, and he stood, helping me to my feet. "Then I shall accompany you to your room, and you can get your crutches."

When we got back, the Fellowship was sitting at a table in the hall and eating breakfast. Pippin, having recovered from the incident with the palantír enough to eat, was doing so with more gusto than usual, probably in order to recover faster. I sat next to Aragorn, as far away from _him_ as possible, and picked at a piece of bread.

"Are you not hungry?" Merry asked, hardly seeming to believe that someone could not constantly desire food. I shook my head.

"You want it?" I held the bread out to him; he looked like he really wanted to say yes, but like he also wanted to be polite and let me eat my food. If it had been a normal day, I would have laughed, but I was in no mood for jokes. "You can have it." I tossed it to him, and he caught it, all of his qualms disappearing as he devoured it.

I stared around the hall, not quite bored, waiting for something to happen. When breakfast was finished (by all but the hobbits), people started talking, but I paid no attention to what was being said, and the words washed over my ears without being understood. A loud bang brought me back to earth, and I looked up to see Théoden striding into the hall, not angrily, just quickly, followed closely by Éomer.

"Gandalf, I was told that you wished to speak to me concerning urgent matters. Tell me, what has happened?" He paced around the hall as Gandalf spoke, telling him of Pippin looking into the palantír and being questioned by Sauron. "How do you know that the Dark Lord did not trick the Halfling? How do you know that he told the truth?" Théoden gestured to Pippin as he spoke.

"There was no lie in Pippin's eyes. A fool, but an honest fool he remains. He told Sauron nothing of Frodo and the Ring. We've been strangely fortunate," he continued, "Pippin saw in the palantír a glimpse of the Enemy's plan. Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith" – Boromir clenched his fists – "His defeat at Helms Deep showed our enemy one thing. He knows the Heir of Elendil has come forth. Men are not as weak as he supposed. There is courage still, strength, perhaps enough to challenge him. Sauron fears this. He will not risk the peoples of Middle Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a king return to the throne of men. If the beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war."

Théoden paused in his pacing, his back to Gandalf. "Tell me," he said, turning on his heel, "why should ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours? What do we owe Gondor?"

_Let it go!_ I wanted to yell at him. I was fed up with him and his grudges, and I was certainly not in the best of moods. Boromir got there first, though.

"We were unable to aid you! While you were busy with the orcs of the White Wizard, my people were guarding themselves against the forces of Mordor. We fight each day to hold the defenses of Osgiliath! You have triumphed over Saruman with the help of the elves, and my people, who are strong but incapable of holding back the threat of Mordor forever, need your help now! Will you refuse them? Would you see Gondor fall because of your pride?"

Théoden narrowed his eyes (shocker, right?) and stepped towards Boromir. "My people were driven out of their homes, killed, left to die on their own across my land, while you fought to regain an _abandoned city_. Do not think that I will overlook that, my _lord_. It is not the fault of Rohan that your people's defenses are falling."

"They must be warned!" Aragorn cut in. "You forget that they are my people as well, Théoden King, and I will not see them fall. I will go to Minas Tirith."

"No, Aragorn," Gandalf said quietly. He leaned towards the Ranger and whispered something in his ear so that the rest of us couldn't hear. He turned back to us to say, "Understand this: things are now in motion that cannot be undone. I ride for Minas Tirith, and I won't be going alone." He looked towards Merry and Pippin, who stood together by the table we had been eating at.

"Indeed, you shall not," Boromir said. "I will travel with you to Minas Tirith, to aid my people."

"Umm, Boromir, maybe you should stay-" I started to say, but he whirled around to face me.

"I will do whatever I must to protect my people. Too long have I been away; I must aid my father and my brother, as well as my people and our city." I swallowed, not sure what would happen if he went to Minas Tirith. Would Denethor still kill himself? Would Faramir almost die?

Gandalf looked between me and Boromir, his gaze calculating. At last he nodded. "Very well, Boromir, you shall travel to Gondor with Pippin and I. But be warned-" He turned to look at me now, and his expression was grave. "I do not know what you will find or what will happen." I swallowed again, looking away from Gandalf. "We leave within the hour," the wizard announced.

He, Boromir, and Pippin left to prepare for their trip. Aragorn, Gimli, and _him_ sat at the far end of the table and began to talk quietly. I got up from the table and went to my room, wanting to get away from people in general.

A shaky sigh escaped my lips as I sat down on my bed. _He_ had barely looked at me the entire morning, and while I knew that he didn't like me, it still hurt. I had thought that he did; I had thought that we could really be together. I forced myself not to cry, to hold it together. _He's not worth crying over_. I told myself.

_Isn't he, though?_ A part of my mind argued. Before the other half could say anything, someone knocked on the door.

"Michela?" It was Éowyn.

"Come in," I called, not bothering to get up.

"Has something happened? I asked Legolas where you were, because you weren't in the hall, but he just looked away and muttered something about it not being his business." I winced when she said his name, and it didn't go unnoticed. "What's wrong? You can tell me."

I sat quietly for a minute, trying to decide whether or not I wanted to let her know what had happened. After a minute, I decided to tell her.

"Last night, at the party, I noticed that…Legolas…was avoiding me. Boromir noticed too, so it wasn't just my imagination. He suggested that I go talk to him, and I wanted to know what was going on, so I did. H-he told me that…that he l-loved someone else, and that we c-couldn't be together. He said that it wasn't f-fair to me, but, É-Éowyn, I thought that he liked me! And-" Whatever else I was going to say was forgotten as I burst into tears. Éowyn immediately wrapped me up in a hug, and I cried into her shoulder.

"Michela, I am so sorry," she said as she pulled back. I wiped at my eyes, and her face hardened. "I could kill him! How dare he treat you in such a manner?" I shrugged.

"I just thought…I just thought that I had a ch-chance," I said, struggling to not sob. "I wish that I h-hadn't gone to talk to him." Maybe if I hadn't, I would never have known that he was in love with someone else. We probably wouldn't have been as friendly as usual, but at least I would still be ignorant. I would still think that he liked me.

"Michela," Éowyn said, gripping my shoulders. "If he cannot see how wonderful you are, then he clearly does not deserve you. I will not tell you to put him behind you, for you loved him, or at least were very fond of him, but I would ask that you not dwell overmuch on the matter. This is his mistake and his alone." She hugged me again. "Although I understand that it may not happen right now, I would have you be happy."

I nodded and smiled weakly as we pulled apart. "Okay, I guess," I muttered. I wiped away the rest of the tears and stood. "Can we go to the stables? I'd like to say good-bye to Boromir, Gandalf, and Pippin."

Éowyn smiled and stood. "Of course. Let us go now, before they are gone."

When we got to the stables, Boromir was mounting Dyrstig, and Gandalf and Pippin were already on Shadowfax. Merry was talking to Pippin, handing him his pouch of pipeweed.

"Have you come to send us off?" Boromir asked once he was on his horse.

"Yeah. Good luck in Minas Tirith."

"Thank you. I hope to see you there soon, under favorable circumstances, of course. But farewell until then."

"Bye." I turned to Gandalf and Pippin.

"I don't know…I don't know what's going to happen," Merry was saying to Pippin.

"Y'all be safe. And good luck," I said to the two on top of Shadowfax.

Gandalf nodded but didn't otherwise acknowledge me. "Run Shadowfax. Show us the meaning of haste!" The white horse burst out of his stall and was out of the stables within a second. Boromir hastily followed, throwing a wave over his shoulder. Merry ran after them, going to get a last glimpse of his best friend as he rode away. Éowyn and I remained in the stables for a minute before walking back to Meduseld. We were silent, absorbed in our own thoughts.

What would happen when Boromir got to Minas Tirith? How would Denethor treat Faramir? Who would ride out to Osgiliath? What effects would my action have on the rest of Middle Earth?

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**Please review and let me know what you thought of the chapter!**

**Just a little note: I will be changing my pen name to "LegoMyLegolas" soon, probably in a few days after this chapter is posted. Just wanted to let y'all know!**


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